Shattered Reality
by Sailor Janus
Summary: COMPLETED... After two years of peace, the gundams find their perfect reality collapsing as a new power takes control and tries to destroy everything they know, with the help of a girl who has killer instincts. But is she really everything she appears to
1. Deadly Beauty

Shattered Reality Part 1

Deadly Beauty

by

Sailor Janus

Disclaimer: I do not on any of these characters. Their respected creators and/or companies own them.  

Takes place two years after The Endless Waltz. The Gundam pilots are 19.

Special Note: I am not following the Sailor Moon series at all, so just think of this as an Alternate Universe. Their characters however are 18.

*~*~*~*

       The year is After Colony 199. Peace still reigns over Earth and the colonies alike even after the unfortunate events, which took place two years ago when a manipulated Mariemaia Khushrenada's attempt for world dominance was put to an end. 

       Since then, all mobile suits, including the gundams were destroyed, and never to be used again, or so they thought.

*~*~*~*

       "Hey Heero!" Duo Maxwell cheerfully greeted his friend as he raced up to the dark-haired guy with the dark Prussian blue eyes. "Long time no see! So did you miss me?" 

       Heero looked at his friend with the long chestnut brown braid. 'Hn, even after all these years, Duo just won't chop off that braid.' he thought. "What are you doing here?"

       The teen with the cobalt blue eyes that almost appeared violet put on a hurt expression, "Come on, can't I say hi to my bestest buddy in the world?" 

       The Perfect Soldier rolled his eyes as he continued typing on his laptop. 

       Duo sighed, "Okay, fine. I got a little bored unloading the shipment of new supplies.... do we really need all that stuff?!"

       "Duo."

       "I'm getting there! So I decided to check and see what you were doing because well, we hardly ever talk, and I miss all the other guys," Duo rambled as he crossed his arms. "With some of them, it's been almost over two years." 

       "Wufei is still here," Heero said in a monotone voice without glancing up from the screen. 

       The chestnut brown-haired teen huffed, "Yeah, but he's always with Sally! Doing paper work with Sally, going on trips with Sally, doing inventory with Sally! Did they get married and not tell me?"

       At that, Heero smirked slightly. It was true. Wufei, the one who calls women weak, and Sally, were indeed inseparable. 

       "Anyway, I was hoping maybe you could come up with a way to get us all back together," Duo suggested with a sigh as Heero continued typing away at his computer.

       "Duo, they'll be here in a few days, remember?" 

       "They will!" Duo exclaimed as he stared at his friend. 'Did I fall asleep during that conversation or something?'

       The darker haired teen was not even phased by Duo's response. "Yes, Relena wants all of us at her peace summit remember? She insisted on our attendance because she was going to honor us for our efforts back in AC 195 and AC 196."

       "Begged was probably more like it," the 02 ex-pilot muttered under his breath. "That's great! Well, I guess I'll leave you to whatever you're doing," Duo grinned as he left the room.

       Heero paused long enough to watch his friend leave before sighing in relief and returning to his work. It wasn't that he didn't like the guy, but Duo did tend to get on Heero's nerves especially when he acted like a needy puppy.

*~*~*~*

       Three days later

       Several miles from the Preventer's Main Headquarters, a large building was brewing plans, which would not appease well with the ex-gundam pilots. 

       This tall, secluded building appeared to be a normal office building, but in reality, it was anything but. Nitol Stanz, a once member and follower of the OZ faction headed by the Romefeller Foundation, both of which were defeated, headed one of many buildings plotting the same projects, which were soon to begin. However, Nitol had tasted what can occur when power comes into play, and with a little effort, he believed that power could be swayed once again, except this time, into his own hands.

       Nitol decided after witnessing the events, which took place in AC 195 and AC 196, that the first phase, which must be completed, was to destroy the Gundam pilots. They had proved themselves to very costly in his plans for world domination. In the past two years Nitol had acquired a number of followers, including scientists, pilots, even attorneys, and doctors to some degree. It took a large amount of planning but after meeting a scientist whom calls himself Prof. T, Nitol was fairly confident in his coming success.

       Arrogantly, the tall dark-haired man strutted down the hall to Prof. T's laboratory, to inspect the results of his "Perfect Weapon."

       Prof. T was a tall and willowy man with white hair and glasses. Many labeled the man as "brilliant" and "a genius," of course; the professor never focused much attention on his colleagues. 

       "Is she ready yet?" Nitol questioned the spectacled-man who appeared to examining a patient, a lovely teenaged girl with shoulder-length dark hair and violet eyes. 

       Glancing up at his leader, Prof. T nodded, "Yes. I have programmed the girl with all of the phases to Operation Evolution. Her first mission shall be to destroy the ex-Gundam pilots. Once they have been exterminated, possibility of failure in our goals will be minimal to none." 

       "Excellent. Send her out as soon as possible. I want those gundam pilots eliminated!" Nitol Stanz exclaimed as he dusted imaginary lint off his gray uniform. "You better not fail me, Professor. That girl has to be as strong if not stronger than the pilots and just as able." 

       "No need to worry. I have a few more tests I need to perform and then Code Name: Firefly, will begin her mission," Prof T, explained as he took off his glasses and rubbed his blue eyes. "After all, she has been trained for a number of years after she was obtained after a lab explosion when she was still a child, forsaking her an orphan. However, I knew her family quite well, and took the girl into my home, training her for such an event as this. Hotaru Tomoe, or Firefly, as she is called, has been equipped with the knowledge and ability in arsenal, hacking, as well as combat both on foot as well as in mobile suits. She is very quick-minded and agile, complete with excellent reflexes and speed. She is quite the perfect assassin if there was ever such a thing."

       "Good, just start her mission as soon as you can. I need those pilots gone before we can begin Operation Red Dove, otherwise, it is more than likely that they will foil my plans," The dark-haired man said before abruptly leaving the room to go about other business.

       "Looks like it is just you and me Firefly," Prof. T smiled. "Now, what is your mission?" 

       The girl dressed in black jeans and a purple tank top, blinked, but her face remained emotionless, "Phase 1. Eliminate the ex-Gundam pilots."

       "Good. You know your mission. Once you have completed it, report back before beginning Phase 2, understand?" 

       Hotaru's violet eyes looked blank as she stood up. "Yes, sir. I destroy the five ex-Gundam pilots and report back to headquarters."

       "Good girl. Now go and accomplish your mission." Prof. T said as he opened the door to the office, which Hotaru walked out through. 

       "Sir." the girl nodded as she left for her room, to get the needed supplies.

*~*~*~*        

       Hotaru found herself at the airport where she suspected the rest of the pilots would show up at. The Prime Minister for Earth's Space United Nations, Relena Peacecraft was to honor the pilots as a surprise at the peace summit she was hosting. It was already reported by two well-known sources of Nitol Stanz's that Quatre Winner's jet had already made it safely to the airport and Trowa Barton was to arrive sometime in the afternoon that day.

        All she had to do was identify them and then find a clue as to where they may appear next.

       The violet-eyed eighteen year old, knew better than to shoot people in the middle of an airport, which would result in either her own death which did not cause a need of concern or her arrest in which detectives would probably trace her back to Nitol Stanz before he could even gain an ounce of power, destroying any hope of success.       

       Suddenly, Hotaru stole a glance at four young men, probably in their late teens or early twenties, greeting another young man who seemed to be around the same age.

       "Hmm, there they are," she murmured as she watched the five boys. 'The silent one who just got off the plane must be Trowa Barton. The Chinese guy yelling at the one with the braid is Chang Wufei. Quatre Winner is the blonde. The talkative one dressed in black with the long braid must be Duo Maxwell no doubt. And the stoic one with the cold blue eyes has to be none other than pilot 01, Heero Yuy.' Hotaru thought to herself not taking her eyes off of her soon to be victims as they began heading her way. 'Too bad I have to kill them. They're all kinda cute, especially the one.'

       "Hey, why is that girl staring at us?" Trowa asked as he pointed out the pretty dark-haired girl, who indeed didn't take her eyes off of the ex-Gundam pilots.

       "She must be impressed by my good looks," Duo gloated with a smirk on his face.

       "Ha! She must trying to figure out if you're a boy or a girl," Wufei snickered to the chestnut brown-haired teen gaping at the suggestion.

       "Hey!" Duo finally managed to say, after the shock passed.

       "Look, she's gone," Quatre softly said indicating to the empty chair, which the girl had vacated.

       Heero glanced at the chair and felt there was something very strange going on. "Odd. Come on. Let's get out of here."

*~*~*~*

       It didn't take Hotaru too long to find the Preventer's Main Headquarters. Such a pity that they didn't do too well at their job since Nitol Stanz's Iron Fist was already well under way with their plans. Of course Hotaru was the one holding the key in her hand as far as whether or not Iron Fist would accomplish their goal of world domination, but she was not about to let Nitol Stanz's dream come to an end. In fact, she was programmed to not let such an occurrence happen.

       The dark-haired teen, adjusted her thin black jacket on her body. Imitation leather no less, but it would have to do especially since Prof. T was not one to spend money on such a frivolous thing as clothes. At least her black leather pants were real, as well as her boots. The only color at all on Hotaru's body was her purple tank top. Not exactly an appropriate color for an assassin, but she didn't care. 

       Calmly she walked down the hall acting as if she owned the place, which was not an unusual trait for her. Hotaru was trained to be aggressive, which in reality, it was the only way she could survive those endless tests that bastard of a professor forced her to do. Blinking, the girl tried to clear her mind as pieces of her memory appeared before disappearing as quickly as they came. 'Where did that come from?' Hotaru thought as the boy with the long braided chestnut brown hair and cobalt blue eyes walked nonchalantly out one of the various rooms on either side of the hall.

       'Hey, it's that girl again. I wonder what she's doing here?' Duo thought as he approached the dark-haired girl grinning. "Hey, do you need any help or anything?"

       Hotaru blinked at the guy in front of her. "Are you Duo Maxwell?" she questioned him, examining his face with her eyes.

       'How did she know my name?' Duo thought as he answered her, "Uh, yes I am. Why?"

       The girl standing in front of him smirked slightly as she reached into the pocket of her jacket. "Good. Now you can die," she softly said, pulling out a gun and aiming it straight at Duo.

       Duo's eyes grew big as he stared at the barrel of the gun and laughed nervously at the girl. "What?! Die?! You-you can't be serious," he stammered as she clicked the safety off. "Then again, perhaps you are."

*~*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: This is my first Gundam Wing/Sailor Moon crossover fic. I have to say, the unedited version is so much better than what is on TV! The editing they did is really sad. The characters can't say kill but they can say crap? Oh well, let me know what you think. And believe me. I have quite a few twists to this story, which should prove to be one of my best. 


	2. Assassination Attempt

Shattered Reality Part 2

Assassination Attempt

by

Sailor Janus

       Duo stared at the gun in the girl's hand. 'Damn it! And of course I don't have any weapons on me.' 

       Suddenly, another voice rang through the hallway startling both the intended victim and attempted murderess.

       "Stop! What are you doing?!" the blonde Arabian with the bright blue eyes shouted pausing in the hallway. 'Okay, that was real smart.' He thought, watching the girl carefully, knowing any false move would mark his end. "Can we talk this out instead of committing mass murder?!"

       Hotaru recognized the blonde trying to convince her that what she was doing was immoral. Of course, the violet–eyed girl only had one mission, to exterminate the ex-gundam pilots, even when she had no idea why. "Quatre Raberba Winner, " she said matter of factly. Positioning her gun towards the boy, the dark-haired girl pulled the trigger as he tried to leap out of the way, only to be hit painfully in the shoulder. 

       Quatre cried out in agony, slumping to the floor as he clutched his bleeding arm tightly, trying to help the blood to cease.

       The girl stared straight into the boy's blue eyes and fired again. Luckily, Heero was there this time to shove Quatre out of target range, allowing the bullet to lodge itself into the wall behind him.

       "Heero!" Duo shouted as he tried to back away from the violet-eyed girl trying to kill them. 'Uh oh. Not a good idea to draw attention to myself around the psycho killer babe,' he thought nervously as the dark-haired girl turned her gun back towards the boy with the long braided hair. "Shit!" 

       Just then, Trowa came up behind Hotaru grabbing her from behind. The two struggled which soon resulted her in slamming the back of her head into his face, and the green-eyed ex-pilot pushing her to the floor as she aimed her gun at him.

       "Trowa Barton, say goodbye," the girl said as she stood up and was about to pull the trigger.

       At the same moment, Heero reached the two teens and kicked the gun out of Hotaru's grasp before she could execute the boy.

       "How dare you Heero Yuy," she growled, holding her throbbing right hand, which had been kicked as well.

       "I don't know who you are, but I'm going to kill you," Heero abruptly said as he took out his gun, aiming it at the girl who was staring into his cold dark blue eyes hidden behind long dark brown bangs, and then released the safety.

       Oddly, the girl smirked as she held her hands above her head.

       "Uh oh. She's going to do something," Duo murmured, standing up from where he was kneeling next to the injured Quatre.

        With remarkable speed, Hotaru did a spinning kick, knocking the gun clearly out of the Perfect Soldier's hand. "You were saying? And oh look, I have another gun," she smugly said, pulling another shiny black gun out of her jacket.

       Quickly, Trowa once again, came up from behind the girl, attempting to restrain her as Heero snatched the gun out of the girl's hand. Of course, Hotaru managed to throw the green-eyed, circus performer off her, sending Trowa into an office door. On an instant, Heero Yuy grabbed her from behind, himself, securely, pinning her arms behind her back to the point where it was actually painfully. 

       "Who sent you?" Heero questioned the dark-haired girl who was struggling to get free.

       "I am not permitted to say," she answered through clenched teeth.

       "What is your name then?" Duo asked, coming up from the side of her in case Heero was in need of any assistance.

       "Hotaru."

       "Hotaru? Wait, your name is Firefly?!" Heero said, quizzically to the girl.

       "Yes, now LET GO OF ME!" she yelled, breaking free of Heero's grip before elbowing him in the face and round kicking Duo in the stomach. As both boys went down in pain, Hotaru took off running down the hall only to be tripped by the unsuspecting Chang Wufei, sending the girl flying into a wall, slamming her head into it. 

       "Don't tell me that little girl is giving you problems," Wufei snickered as Heero and Duo both climbed to their feet.

       "Shut up Wufei and grab her. She is not as weak as she may appear to be," Heero muttered as he walked in the girl's general direction as Wufei apprehended the pretty assassin who could barely, sit up or even fight back as the Chinese teen, forced her to the floor, and pinned Hotaru's left hand behind her back, leaning over her. Surprisingly, she didn't even put up with much of a struggle and appeared unable to focus.

        Calmly, Heero strolled up to the girl and kneeled next to her, seizing one of her small hands, slightly bending her fingers back.

       "Now, you will to tell us exactly what we want to know or you are going to have a very difficult time firing a gun. Understand?" 

       Hotaru frowned at the boy disgustedly and spat at him.

       "I'll take that as a yes. Now, who are you?" he questioned the girl, still clutching her right hand.

       "Bite me." 

       With no emotion at all on his face, Heero bent her fingers back some more as the girl flinched slightly. "Tell me again. Who are you?"

       "I told you the first time. Hotaru. Hotaru Tomoe. Now get off of me!" she angrily said as Wufei and Heero both refused to budge.

       "Good. Next Question. Whom do you work for?"

       "I don't know," Hotaru softly answered, wincing in pain as the blue-eyed boy bent her fingers back more.

       "I'll ask you again. Whom do you work for?" the Perfect Soldier ordered bending her fingers further.

       "Ahhh! I don't know! They never told me! All I know is that I was programmed to kill you five!" the violet-eyed girl screamed out in pain as the other four pilots cringed. 

       "Not good enough," Heero simply said as he bent the girl's fingers back to practically their limit.

       "Heero! Take it easy! You're gonna break her fingers off!" Duo said as he pointed out the tortured look on the girl's face.

       "She can make the pain stop whenever she wants by telling us what we want to know instead of being so stubborn. One more time. Who sent you?" 

       "I DONT KNOW! I just wake up one day with plans to kill you five! I know nothing else! All I do know is my name and my mission and what they programmed me to do!" Hotaru cried out as tears filled her eyes. Reluctantly, Heero let her hand go.

       "I don't even have any idea as far as my past is concerned, or anything. Name and mission, and nothing more," the violet-eyed girl said as she made a fist, trying to make the pain cease.

       "How do we know you're telling the truth?" Wufei questioned the girl who glared at him.

       "Do you think I would let myself succumb to that much torment?!" 

       "Maybe you just have a high pain tolerance," he coldly said as she turned her head away.

       "So, now what do we do with her?" Duo asked as everyone turned their attention back to the girl who was still pinned to the floor by Wufei.

*~*~*~*

      After much debate, the pilots took the now unconscious girl to the small apartment, which Heero and Duo shared, so they could try to interrogate her again in the morning.

      The Perfect Soldier tightened the ropes, which bound Hotaru to a hard wooden chair, muttering, "It would have been easier to just kill her. She probably won't admit anything else."

       "Don't worry Heero, if you continue what you did to that girl's hand again, she'd probably tell you her life history," Duo said as he shuddered again, recollecting the way Heero was forcing Hotaru to talk. Even though, the girl was trying to murder him, he did have to feel sorry for her. She chose poorly by targeting Heero Yuy or anyone even close to him.

       "If you three want, you guys can bunk here for the night," Heero told the three teens that nodded in response as he inspected the ropes, determining there was no possible way, Hotaru could break free.

        "That is very kind of you, Heero, " Quatre commented as Trowa and Wufei nodded their thank yous.

        "Someone can take my bed. I plan on trying to do some research out here as well as keep an eye on the girl."

        "Suit yourself," Wufei said, accepting the blankets a very worn out Duo handed him shockingly without an insult, before crashing on the sofa.

         Quatre, said good night and carefully, retreated for the Perfect Soldier's room, which Wufei and Trowa both agreed would be best since he was the most injured. 

         The chestnut brown-haired boy also handed Trowa some blankets and a pillow as he let out a big yawn, mumbling "night," and entered his room, only to collapse on his bed, falling asleep, without even changing.

         The only one left was Trowa who softly said, "Don't scrutinize over her too much and forget to sleep. We'll figure this out soon." Quietly, he made a bed on the floor behind the sofa, and fell asleep there.   

         Heero glanced where his friends once stood, before turning to his laptop, and diligently began typing, searching for any clue as far as who was Hotaru working for.

         Unable to find the slightest of clues, the dark blue-eyed teen turned towards the awkwardly sleeping girl. "Just who appointed you this mission anyway?" he softly said before falling asleep.

*~*~*~*

        Heero awoke, a few hours later. He never did need much in a way of sleep. There were always more important things that he needed to do. Luckily, he managed to be able to successfully get through the day with at least three hours of rest without any problems. 

       Remembering his prisoner, the ex-gundam pilot swiftly turned around, and was relieved to discover that she was still tied to the chair, with no signs of even attempting to escape. The girl just sat there with her head slumped to the side.

       The teen didn't even know what to think. All he wanted was answers, but somehow, this situation was different, more complex. 

       Suddenly Hotaru opened her eyes, and examined the room she was in. 'How did I get here? Wait, why can't I move?!' she thought, glancing down at the ropes constricting the girl to the chair. 'Damn!'

       "So you're awake," Heero said, turning his body, so he was completely facing the girl.

       "Yes. How did I get here?" she questioned the dark-haired boy in front of her.

       "We brought you here for further questioning, instead of killing you." 

       Hotaru thought of Heero's answer for a moment as she looked at his emotionless face. Suddenly she frowned as she cocking her head to the side and then shook it as if she were trying to get water out of her ear. The violet-eyed girl tried to bring her hands up, but found the ropes were too constraining. With a sigh she gave up. 

       "Don't even try to break those handcuffs," Heero said in his usual monotone-like voice. "They are made of Gundamium alloy, and are practically indestructible."

       "Quite a waste using it to make handcuffs," Hotaru remarked as she stared at Heero. 'Just what is he thinking and what is going on? Why is my urge to kill him not as effective?'

       "They do their job."

     After a long pause the dark haired girl abruptly said, "I'm aborting the mission." 

****

Author's Notes: Thank you sincerely for all the reviews. I greatly appreciate all of them. I will answer a few of your questions, yes, there will be crossed romance but I will not tell who it's going to be, because that would blow my whole "keep you suspense" thing. I may or may not end up changing the rating because this is going to get pretty violent and a little graphic (blood and guts wise anyways). You'll understand what I mean in the upcoming chapters. 


	3. Malfunctioning Program

Shattered Reality Part 3

Program Malfunction

by

Sailor Janus

       Hotaru looked blankly into Heero's cold blue eyes. "I'm aborting my mission." The Perfect Soldier blinked at her response.      

         "What do you mean, 'you're aborting your mission?" he inquired crossing his arms over his favorite green tank top. 'What is she trying to pull? Does she really expect us to be that stupid?'

         "I have no idea why, but I do not desire to execute any of you. It's as if my urge to complete the mission is fading," the dark-haired girl answered as she glanced at the floor.   

        "Why might that be?" Heero asked sounding bored. 'What is she planning?' he thought while turning off his laptop. He didn't find anything useful anyway.

       "I'm starting to remember my training among other things I had forgotten. As I said before, I was programmed to kill you ex-gundam pilots and apparently, that program is failing," Hotaru forcefully said. 'Why did the program have to die now? Couldn't it had happened when I was still at that damn airport?!' 

       "So let me get this straight, you were programmed to kill us and now that program has broke? A likely story but no, I'm not buying it. Nice try though," Heero said as he rolled his eyes.

       The violet-eyed girl at this point was getting really frustrated. She was fighting on the wrong side. She knew it. She had been programmed and her mental abilities were manipulated as well by some device. Some device. 

       'Wait. What was Prof T. doing yesterday morning after training when that strange man came in? Ahh! Try to remember Hotaru! He was examining me but why?' the dark haired frowned as she stared at the floor. "Damn it!"

       "Let me guess, now you are going to pled insanity," the dark-haired teen drawled as he watched Hotaru curse to herself tensing her face.

       "No, I'm trying to recall something important which may perhaps give you incentive to believe me," the girl sighed biting her lip. 'Come on, I've got to remember! I was sitting on that cold table. He was doing something with my hair. I can remember his ice-cold hands on my face and ear. Ear. That's it.' 

       Hotaru took a deep breath, knowing that trying to convince Heero Yuy was going to be very difficult if not impossible. "Heero. May I ask you to untie my arms? I promise that I won't try to escape or kill you. In fact, you may kill me if I even stand up." 

       The teen looked coldly at the girl, "Why should I do you a favor you? You did attempt to execute my friends and myself after all. You do not deserve any charity."

       The girl sighed as she refused to give up. She was already too close to finding the answers. "Please do not argue with me. I need to check something, which might explain a few questions. I won't ask you to trust me, but grant my one request. It is imperative that I do this now." Hotaru continued to plead with the pilot sitting in front of her. "I beg of you."

       Heero sternly looked at the girl. She seemed earnest enough and even gave him permission to kill her but he still did not know whether or not to listen to Hotaru.        

       "It is important and may justify why I suddenly do not wish to take part in completing my mission but I must do it promptly before it completely malfunctions." Hotaru continued pressing on. "It's urgent!"

       With a deep sigh, he rose from his chair and approached her, kneeling down so they were face to face, "Firefly, if you dare try anything I will kill you," he growled, staring into her eyes.

       "I know," she whispered, feeling his hot breath leave her face as Heero moved behind the girl and loosened the constricting ropes.

       With a wince, she stretched her stiff arms in front of her; as the blue-eyed boy never took his eyes off of the girl, gun ready.

       Carefully, Hotaru brought her shackled hands to her right ear, and seemed to be trying to retract something from inside it.

       'What is she doing?' the perfect soldier thought curiously as he watched her.

       The girl suddenly cringed, shutting her eyes tightly as she slowly brought her hands away, holding a small black object in between her thumb and forefinger. It was about the size of a thumbtack, shaped similarly but wider around the top and instead of a thin body, this was thick ending in a fairly long sharp, pointed tip. Heero stared at the tiny device in shock.

       "This is what programmed me with my mission. The round part has a disk in it, which data can be inputted and is then sent out. The sharp part is forced into a nerve in your ear, which sends signals to your brain. This then brings focus to the appointed mission and nothing more. Kind of like a form of brain washing, but more extreme because of the numerous tests in conjunction with other things which must be conducted," the violet-eyed girl explained as she looked at the horrible little machine in her hand. "It has given me so much torment," she softly said, breaking open the input drive and delicately, taking out a tiny disk. "This will tell you everything you need to know. Put it in your laptop and you'll learn exactly what I have experienced."

       Slowly she held out the disk, which resembled a tiny contact lens to the bewildered pilot. Heero didn't say a word only looking at the girl as if trying to read her.

       "It won't destroy your computer, if that is what you are worried about. Just place it in the micro disk drive and it will do the rest," Hotaru sighed as if she were very tired.

       Heero finally managed regain his composure. "How do I know I can believe you?" he asked, starring at the miniature disk in the girl's hand.

       The girl gazed into his blue eyes as she replied, "How do you know you can't?"        

       The two stared at each other as if daring the other to do something completely foolish.

       "Just play the disk," Hotaru whispered.

       "Why are you so insistent?" Heero questioned Hotaru, as he narrowed his eyes. 

       "Why do you ask so many questions?" she challenged him back.        

       The dark brown-haired teen glared at Hotaru as she held her ground. At this time, Trowa had awakened and was walking towards the two.

       "What's going on?" the green-eyed pilot asked glancing at Hotaru before returning his attention to Heero.

       "She says, this small disk contains the program which brainwashed her into trying to killing us," the other boy said in his usual monotone voice.

       "Have you tried the disk?" Trowa thoughtfully asked.

       "No. It probably contains a virus which will destroy the hard drive or something." Heero speculated as Hotaru rolled her eyes.

       The circus performer shrugged, "Try it anyway. You can always get a new laptop."

       "Hn." Reluctantly, Heero popped the practically microscopic disk into the computer as the three teens intently listened.

       "Code Name: Firefly. Your mission is to destroy the gundam pilots, Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Quatre Winner, Trowa Barton, and Chang Wufei. You must eliminate the ex-gundam pilots without failure. Destroy them anyway possible. They are devious and will corrupt our plans for the future. Do not destroy our future, Firefly. Kill the gundam pilots. Eradicate them anyway possible. Do not fail......"

       Abruptly, Heero shut the program off before turning towards the girl still partway bound to a chair. She did not say a word and only studied at the two boys' faces, in hopes they may consider accepting what she had to say as the truth. However, no one said a word for a long time, as if all sound in the world had disappeared, leaving only silence.

       Finally Hotaru found her voice as memories of the torturing procedures she had to under go, began to haunt her. "Try listening to that at high intervals echoing in your head as if you were a schizophrenic hearing voices. Very affective, but disabling with every other function that does not concern your mission," Hotaru bitterly said. "They knew how to train me in everything to perfection, except they never had control. I was rather relentless went it came to certain missions. If I felt the intentions were not correct, I would refuse to follow through so as a result they used that horrible device to regulate my actions. Needless to say, I became a puppet." 

       "I still do not know whether to believe you or not. You could have conveniently set this up," Heero finally said, refusing to allow himself to let up on the girl.

       "No, I did not. It must have busted when I slammed my headed against the wall after being tripped. Anyway, if you will allow me, I want to join you guys," Hotaru announced as the two guys once again stared at her words. "I want revenge, not to mention, they are planning something very devious which must be prevented before it is too late. Let's just say, Prof. T. was rather hell bent on you guys being dead."

       "Why the sudden change?" Heero challenged as he glared at the girl.

       "I already told you. That electronic device from hell must have blown a fuse when I was sent flying into the wall thanks to Chang Wufei. Believe it or not, I can help all of you," The violet-eyed girl stated as her frustration increased.

       "And how can you help us?" Trowa questioned the girl whose eyes suddenly had a gleam to them. 

       "How do you feel about gaining free access into the headquarters where I came from? I still have all the security codes and from there, you can get your answers," Hotaru smugly said as the two gundam pilots exchanged glances.

       "How do we know you are not setting us up?" the Perfect Soldier remarked as Hotaru sighed, growing sick of Heero's third degree.

       "Because I'll come with you not to mention I want to repay them for what they did to me. My memory is coming back a lot more clear now that this damn machine is out of my head, and it is not exactly roses and fuzzy kittens," the girl harshly said as a menacing, yet pained look flashed in her eyes. "They can't treat a human being like that ever again. Ever." 

       Trowa examined the girl's now hardened features as she looked away, clenching her fists tightly. 'Something happened to her. Hotaru must have been put through something dreadful, possibly degrading. She has experienced a lot more than she is convincing us to believe. She's dead serious.' 

        Quietly, the green-eyed teen turned to his friend whispering, "I think we should listen to her. Hotaru seems to have a lot of vengeance in her right now. That girl is willing to kill whoever was involved with whatever was done to her, even with her bare hands if she has to."

       After contemplating what Trowa just told him, Heero decided that it'd be best to have a few more opinions, which meant, waiting for the other ex-gundam pilots to wake up. "Fine, but let's hear what the others have to say. I know Quatre is presumably going to agree with you, Wufei will argue that she is just a weak girl, which we do not need aid from, and Duo will, actually, who knows with him but it'd reasonable to hear their responses anyway." 

       "Good point." Trowa nodded. 

       'And of course I get a trial,' Hotaru thought, still holding the mind controlling device tightly in her hand. 'I don't blame them. I'd probably do the same if I were in their position.'

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: I am so glad all of you like this story. I am just so overwhelmed by the responses, totally floating on cloud nine right now! The more reviews I get, the more encouraged I am to continue. I'm still debating on whether or not it will go R after the next few chapters because it's going to get really dark fast, but Gundam Wing isn't exactly the sugar-coated show anyway. 

I hope to get chapter 4 out Sat/Sun since I'll have more time to work on it since I have all these tests to study for, but I'll get it out as soon as I can.


	4. The Verdict

Shattered Reality Part 4

The Verdict

by

Sailor Janus

       _"You must push her harder! We can not have a weak and sensitive weapon on our hands!" Professor T. growled to a short, balding man dressed in a lab coat holding a clipboard._

_       "But Firefly has already met her limit, excelling at every single task we set upon her. There is nothing more we can accomplish at this point. Her skills are quite remarkable and very effective," the younger man nervously answered as he turned to the training laboratory where the dark-haired girl had beaten ten men without aid to weapons. _

_       Unknowing to the two scientists, Hotaru was listening to every word said, hidden underneath the desk, which was only by pure coincidence. The girl was trying to reach her favorite silver ring she had dropped when the two men entered the small office, trapping her beneath the metal piece of furniture._

_       "Well, then, what is the problem?" the professor inquired, sounding very bored now._

_       "She refuses to complete mission: Time Bomb. Hotaru says that there should be no reason to kill a man that promotes pacifism and that was the end of the discussion."_

_       "Damn that girl! Can't we intensify the training? Burn that insipid conscience out her?!" the white-haired man challenged._

_       "Not if you don't want her dead! Hotaru has been pushed way beyond her limits. We'll just have accept it and see if we can hire someone else for the job," the other man sighed as Professor T slammed his fist down on the desk. _

_       "Nonsense! We will intensify the training to twice that of Firefly's limit. That should make the girl even more powerful, and perhaps smother that conscience of hers." _

_       The assistant dropped his jaw at the Professor's suggestion. "That-that's insane! Professor T, she is only a child!"_

_       The white-haired man glared at the other's outburst, but disregarded it. "Are you forgetting that Firefly is also an orphan? Society does not care what happens to orphans as long as they are kept away from stealing." Turning back towards the training room he continued. "I want that conscience of hers muted, do you understand me?"_

_       "How do you expect to achieve that goal with so little time left?"_

_       Prof. T grinned fiendishly. "I have a much better plan. We will still increase the training, but not to the degree I previously mentioned. I have worked much too hard to have an insolent little brat ruin everything! She will, complete that mission and I know of a way." _

_       Hotaru sat frozen on the floor as Professor T and his assistant left the office, quietly closing the door behind them. Slowly she slightly rocked back and forth, bobbing her head at the same time. She was only fourteen; she couldn't kill an innocent man. But from the tone of the Professor's voice, relentlessly, she would. _

_       "Where is that damn girl? HOTARU!"_

*~*~*~*

       "Huh?!" the girl gasped snapping out of her daydream. 

       Trowa and Heero glanced strangely at the girl before returning their attention to the three newcomers, Duo, Wufei, and a bandaged Quatre. Hotaru could not help but feel guilty from succeeding in shooting the blonde. She knew bullet wounds hurt worse than almost anything.

       Suddenly, the dark-haired girl began to feel a little faint, probably because she cannot recall having eaten anything, either that or the flashback. Whatever was the reason, she didn't feel the need to mention it. 'How long was I out for?' 

       "Anyway," Heero continued talking to the other ex-gundam pilots. "Firefly over there says she was brainwashed with a tiny machine which was implanted in her ear, controlling her. After being tripped by Wufei when she was attempting to assassinate us, her head was forced against the wall, causing the device to malfunction."

       "A likely story. She is making it up. Weak woman," the Chinese teen growled, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

       "Actually, that part does seem legitimate. There was a micro programming disk in that device, which we played on Heero's computer, specifically ordering Hotaru to kill us," Trowa admitted quietly, indicating, the disk, which the Perfect Soldier began to play.

       "Firefly, you must exterminate, the gundam pilots, Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Quatre Winner, Trowa Barton, and Chang Wufei. They must be eliminated for the better of the future. Do not fail us, Firefly. They will destroy everything.  They are vermin. Kill them."

       Heero, once again, shut the machine off, starring at the computer screen. They had been wanted dead several times, but there was always a reason why. This time, he could not figure out the motive unless of course someone held a long overdue grudge.

       "Gee, that was sweet. I feel so loved right now," the braided-boy sarcastically said breaking the silence. "I wonder what type of future they are planning if they want us dead?"

       "That was really haunting. You had to listen to that?" Quatre questioned Hotaru who nodded her head. 

       "Repeatedly. I always wanted to know what it was like to be a schizophrenic. Now I wish I never knew," the girl grimly stated.                    

       "Firefly has also said that she does not have the desire to kill us any longer. In fact she wants join us, for vengeance reasons," the dark blue-eyed ex-pilot abruptly said, turning everyone's attention back to him and then to the Hotaru. "The question is should we let her? She also mentioned she can get us into the headquarters where she came from, which could help us find the answers to what they are planning. What do all of you think?"

       "She is truthful," the green-eyed circus performer whispered. "They did something to her, I have no idea what, but Hotaru is angry and will probably go after whoever was in charge of whatever she was put through. She seriously means business."

       The ex-gundam pilots thought about Trowa's words, sneaking glances at the girl who was studying the carpeted floor. 

       "If any of you were wondering. I could have killed you last night while you slept," Hotaru darkly said, as she looked at the five boys out of the corner of her eye. "I have a detonation device which you did not remove, hidden in my boot, and well as a very sharp knife, and a tear gas tablet." 

       Bring her bound legs up; she reached inside her shoe with her handcuffed hands, revealing the items she spoke of as the pilots gaped at her. 

       'How could we have forgotten to check her shoes?!' Heero thought as he gritted his teeth recalling, the fact they remembered to take her jacket, but never fully checked the rest of her. 'Stupid! She could have blown us sky high if she wanted to.'

       "Now do you believe me?" the violet-eyed girl arched her eyebrow. 

       "You have to admit, she got us there," Quatre sighed. "I think we should give her a chance. We did not trust each other when we first met."

       "But we didn't try to kill each other when we first met!" Wufei argued as the others shook their heads in disagreement.

       "Actually...we did. The only difference was that we were in the gundams. Unless of course you count the time I shot Heero," Duo reminded them, as he scratched his head. "But yeah, let's give the babe a chance. Who knows, she might prove to be useful."

       Wufei and Heero still did not indicate whether they agreed with Quatre and Duo or not, as they tried to decide whether allowing the girl which tried to murder them, help.

       "I agree. There may be more to her than we think," Trowa nodded his head making it possibly three against two.

       "Fine, we'll see what this headquarters of hers has to offer, but I still do not trust her," Heero firmly stated, as he glanced over his shoulder at Hotaru.

       "And that leaves me the odd man out. Injustice," Wufei grumbled as he sighed in defeat. "All right. Let the girl help us." 

       "Firefly, Do you have a plan?"  Heero questioned the girl who nodded her head. 

       "Yes I do. But I first need to be untied. Oh, and do you have any paper and pencils?" the girl inquired as the guys exchanged glances. 

*~*~*~*

       "Okay, so we decided Heero and Duo will be coming with me to Station Red. What we need to do is get from here to here without getting you two discovered." Hotaru explained as she pointed out the threshold to the entrance on the map she had hand-drawn of the outside and inside of the building as the others looked on. "We could probably take out two guards and borrow their uniforms, so you two look less suspicious."

       "Easy. Guards can be so dumb, always falling for the stupidest stuff," the cobalt blue-eyed teen grinned.

       "Hn." the perfect soldier replied, nodding his head.

       "From, there it gets tricky. I may have all the security codes, but that does not mean we are in the clear," the girl continued.

       "Don't worry. We'll just do what we do best. Improvise," Duo smugly grinned.

       "Just don't forget that this needs to be a quick in and out. We can't get distracted or things can get very dangerous. They do not call it the experimental station for nothing."

       "What do you mean?" the blonde Arabian curiously asked.

       "A lot of experiments are concocted here, some very fatal. I have witnessed what happens when someone has betrayed them, which is why I need to go back there to begin with and collect some stuff. If they find out I am working with you five, lets just say, the punishment will be severe," Hotaru explained edge-wise. 

       "So you have now basically placed your life in danger?" Trowa questioned the girl.

       "My life is always in danger, just this time, it's more critical," Hotaru softly said without a pint of emotion in her voice. "We should probably set out now. The sooner, this is over with, the better.

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Finally I'm getting the point in the story where it really starts taking off which may give it an R-rating, but it fits it perfectly. From here on out, it's going to get a lot more action-packed and suspenseful. 

       Once again, thank you for all the reviews. I really look forward to reading what all of you think. By the way, don't worry about me not finishing this, lol. It's going to be a fairly long story, but that is the only way it can actually make sense and look less forced. But, yes, I am not going to stop and leaving you all thinking, why did I start something if I don't finish it? I make it a point to finish what I start. 

       I have a lot of stuff that I must do (school related stuff) during next week so the next chapter may not be out until next weekend, but I'll see if I can sneak it in, if possible Tues, or Wed. Try is the key word, lol. 


	5. Infiltration

Shattered Reality Part 5

Infiltration

by

Sailor Janus

       Hotaru took a deep breath of the night air as she stepped out of the van and peered through the trees where the tall building, known as Station Red, stood awaiting them. Sure, she knew all the access codes and passwords in the joint, but that didn't make this exactly a walk in the park.

        'Please don't let them have discovered that I switched sides. As long as everyone in there believes I still am their "pretty little assassin," the better chance we all have of making it out alive,' the dark-haired girl thought as she relocated her gun, in the pocket of her jacket among her other toys which she may end up needing for emergency uses.

       "So this is the experimental headquarters huh? Yeesh, looks pretty ugly," Duo cringed at the guards surrounding the entrance, as he shoved a few clips in his pockets.

       Heero turned and surveyed the area. The thought that the Preventers never found out about the place sickened him. Of course, it was masked as a normal office to keep it as ambiguous as possible. Unfortunately, they succeeded with flying colors.

       "Are you sure you won't need us?" Trowa questioned the violet-eyed girl who shook her head. 

       "No, I don't want to risk them seeing you guys then tracing it back to us. We'll find our own way back. I am aware of several ways out of this horrible place."

       The dark green-eyed teen nodded and turned on the ignition, leaving his headlights off. "If you guys need help, use the cell phone. Good luck." Quickly, he backed out and left, with a small wave. 'I hope you know what you are doing.'

       "Let's do this," Hotaru simply spoke as she stalked into the wooded area surrounding the tall building as the two boys followed close behind. 

       Silently, the trio managed to make it to the outer edges of the clearing, without being sighted and carefully crouched down on the grass, hidden by the shadows and bushes surrounding the area.

       "Damn it. I didn't count on them being this heavily guarded," the girl said through gritted teeth. 'Guess I'll have to use Plan B. I hate Plan B,' she thought with a sigh as the Heero and Duo looked up at her curiously.      

       "What's wrong?" the dark-eyed teen with the messy hair questioned as he noticed the frustration emitting from Hotaru.

       "Nothing. Look, stay here. I have to use Plan B," the dark-haired girl growled as she stood up slowly.

       "Wait, Plan B?! There's a Plan B?! What's Plan B?" the braided-teen asked looking very perplexed. Heero merely glared at the girl, since he was not acknowledged of the existence of Plan B either.

       "Yes, there is a Plan B, I just didn't tell you guys because it mainly concerns me. I am going to have to appear as if I have returned from murdering you guys in order to gain access inside, and then steal some uniforms."

       "Why can't we accompany you?" the Perfect Soldier challenged the violet-eyed girl who shook her head.

       "Impossible. They may catch the two of you with the surveillance cameras. Just stay here," Hotaru firmly stated as she opened a small vile of red liquid smearing it on her shirt and hands. 

       "What are you doing?!" the cobalt-eyed ex-pilot exclaimed as he stared at the girl like she had just lost her mind.

       "It's blood, as sick as it sounds. I'll explain later. Stay!" Quickly, Hotaru walked up to the building as the two ex-gundam pilots watched, from their hiding place. 

       'Let's see how good of an actress I am,' the teenaged girl thought as she walked up to the guarded door.  

       "Mission Complete. Ex-gundam pilots destroyed. Must return to headquarters," Hotaru blankly said to the guard closest to the door with a vacant look in her eyes.

       The tall, black-haired man gave the girl a once over, and allowed her into the building. 

       Once inside, the dark-haired girl silently let out the breath she was holding, and quickly crept down the hall to the laundry shoot. Glancing around the hallway, she made sure there was no one in the vicinity before climbing in and slid down the shaft, landing in a pile of dirty clothes. 

       Grabbing two sets of shirts and pants that looked like they could fit the two ex-pilots, Hotaru, jumped out of the extremely large rolling laundry basket and raced to the window. 

       Digging in one of the pockets of her jacket, she pulled out a knife, and carefully sliced the insulation, around it. "Got it," she smirked as she removed the glass sheet, placing it on the floor and cautiously climbed out of the window. Examining the area for onlookers before rolling to her back on the ground, she clenched her gun, in case anyone followed her.

       "So far, so good," Hotaru murmured, as she rose to her feet, and raced to the place she left the guys.  

       Abruptly, as she approached, Heero pulled his gun on her, and hesitated once he realized it was only Hotaru. The boy still did not trust her and she knew it.

       "Here, throw these on. Might be a little big, but they should do," the dark-haired girl whispered, tossing the clothes at the two boys' feet. "We don't have much time left. In an hour, they'll activate the security system and even I don't really know how to successfully walk through it without setting the damn thing off."

       Quickly, the two teens put the new clothing on over their own shirts and pants. 

       "Wait, what type of uniforms are these?" Duo asked as they began walking towards the back of the building 

       "Janitors'."

       "Great, I feel so high up on society's totem-pole right now," the chestnut brown-haired teen muttered.

       "Keep it down," Heero quietly said as they neared the building.

       Hotaru inspected the perimeter facing the back entrance. Just as she hoped, empty.

       Quietly they approached the door, the girl taking the lead. "If I recall the system correctly then the code should be-" Hotaru muttered to herself, pushing a sequence of buttons on the dial pad as the two boys scanned the area for guards or anyone else that might get in their way.

        Finally, the green light flashed with a small beep. "We're in. Heero, the lab is down the west wing straight ahead. Duo and I will meet you there after I get what I need. Please try not to get caught," the violet-eyed girl firmly said as she glanced into the boy's dark-blue eyes.

       "Hn," Heero nodded as he turned towards the west wing.

*~*~*~*

       "So, Hotaru where are we going?" the chestnut brown-haired teen whispered as he looked anxiously around the hall. 

       "To my stationed room. I have to get some of my things out of here before they discover my treason," the girl simply said. "Stop here."

       "Why?"

       "Just stop and stay quiet," Hotaru shakily said as she pressed herself against the wall biting her lower lip. Duo also leaned on the wall, but was confused as to why, when he suddenly realized what the girl was so paranoid about. There were two scientists walking in their general direction.   

       Hotaru held her breath as they strolled past the two teens, unaware, of their existence.        

       The girl tilted her head, implying she wanted the boy with the long braid to follow her, but not to say a word. Reluctantly, he stayed close behind, wishing that he hadn't volunteered for this mission to begin with. Duo didn't mind danger or death for that matter, but the ideas swimming in his head at the moment of what these insane people would do to him if he were caught, made him nauseous. Hotaru really, should not have brought up the fact that they liked to experiment on the captives.

       Cautiously, the two teens sneaked around the corner, finding themselves in another long empty hallway. 

       The violet-eyed girl, walked quickly, passing several doors before coming to a stop, and began entering a code into the keypad next to the door as Duo withheld watch over the multiple doors lining the corridor. 

       A small beep, followed by a flashing green light signaled the door was unlocked. Swiftly, Hotaru and Duo raced into the room, closing the door behind them.

       Duo found himself in a very dimly lit room, cluttered with many lamps. The boy stood, amazed at the appearance of the room, before being interrupted by a very hasty Hotaru who threw a black bag at him. 

       "Open the bottom drawer to my bureau and take out everything inside. Be as fast as possible. We need to get back to Heero before the security system is activated," the dark-haired girl ordered the ex-gundam pilot as she threw open her closet, removing several articles of clothing as well as a large manila envelope from the top shelf, stuffing them into another black bag.

       Nodding his head, Duo, opened the drawer, finding himself staring at rather extensive collection of arsenal. 'Heero would love this!' he thought as he began filling up the bag. "By the way, why do we have to sneak around if we are disguised?'

       Hotaru glanced up from her closet for a second, "You do not have name tags, that's why, not to mention the guards know the janitorial staff. The only reason you have the uniforms is so if someone takes a quick glance at you guys, you do not look out of place." The girl next turned to her nightstand, grabbing a few more things, before finishing filling her bag with stuff from her top two drawers of bureau.

       "Okay, got everything?" she asked, swinging around to face the long haired boy who nodded in response. "Good, let's go grab Heero and get the hell out of here."

*~*~*~*

       Heero was typing like a mad man trying to access and copy the information and files which he deemed important in order to put an end to whatever the people who had associated with Hotaru were planning, as fast as possible. Whatever it was, it was probably very corrupt.

       'Come on. There has to be more here.' the teenager thought as he searched through the main page to the system. Suddenly, he came across a link to a page called "Code Name: Firefly." Without a second thought, the Prussian blue-eyed ex-pilot selected the file, and began copying it. He wanted to know exactly what this girl who calls herself an ally was about and what a more perfect way, than through the lab's computer system. 

       Just as the Perfect Soldier completed his hacking, Hotaru and Duo ambled in the room as Heero spun around, gun ready.

       "Hi to you too," Hotaru glared as she walked up to another computer terminal.

       "What are you doing? I already have all the needed files," the dark-haired boy questioned, looking annoyed that she didn't think he did his job properly.

       "I know, but there a few files I need of my own," Hotaru, matter of factly said.

       In record-breaking speed, she copied what she found necessary before turning to the two guys and taking a deep breath when suddenly the alarms sounded.

       "Oh shit," the girl cursed as she stood. "We are in deep trouble. Somehow, they found us."

       "Wait, how?!" Duo asked, as his eyes grew wide.

       "No idea. They must have changed the codes or something, delaying them long enough so it'd seem like an easy entrance. Damn it!"

       "Nice acting job but you set this up, didn't you!" Heero accused Hotaru, looking at her coldly in the eye as he pulled his gun on her, clicking the safety off.

*****

Author's Notes: This was a difficult and fun chapter to plan. I knew that they were going to infiltrate into that building, I just didn't know how they would do it. 

Must say, I love all of your reviews and look forward to reading all of them.

Time to answer a few questions. The part concerning Prof. T, I'll be getting to his identity later (there is a huge reason why I'm being so quiet about it) and no the deathbusters and Mistress 9 won't be making an appearance, sorry. 

Okay, yes there will be a romance, I have already chose who and it'll fit perfectly with the story. Those of you who wanted it to be another character, I have at least one more crossover concerning one of the other mentioned matches which I'll put up the same time the romance between Hotaru and someone heats up, and no, I'm not telling who it is because it'll ruin the surprise.

Let's see, am I forgetting anything? Oh yeah, around let's see, maybe it'd be chapter 8? Don't know. Well, anyways, due to graphic content, I'll have to upgrade this story to an R. You'll understand when I get there. The scenes have been written, and it's really dark and will get darker but that is what will really tie things together. Without certain events, it just wouldn't be the same.

Thank you for reading ^_^


	6. Great Escape

Shattered Reality Part 6

Great Escape

by

Sailor Janus

       Hotaru stood completely frozen in front of the gun Heero had aimed at her heart. However instead of looking afraid like he expected, she actually appeared to be pretty perturbed. 

       Taking a deep breath, she stared into his cold deep blue eyes. "I did not set this up, Heero. Do you even realize how much my life is on the line right now because I led you two here? If they find out I betrayed them, there is no telling what they might do. But if you are so insistent that I arranged this whole thing, then go ahead and pull the trigger, I won't move, but you two will not last 10 minutes out there. Security is very ugly and malicious. I know that for a fact because I watched a man who committed treason, being ripped apart by the guard dogs, which are starved for several days at a time to make them extremely bloodthirsty. I'd rather cut my own head off with a butter knife than be found by them," the dark-haired girl bluntly said never removing her gaze from Heero's. "You better think fast Yuy, because security is going to be here within minutes if not seconds."

       The perfect soldier, kept his eyes focused on Hotaru's as he lowered the gun. "Fine, I'll believe you this time, but you better not double-cross. I still do not trust your intentions as pure, and if you are lying, I will not hesitate to pull the trigger next time."

       "Permission granted," the girl simply said, with a small nod of her head.

       "Um, can we please discuss this later because I really do not want to be a doggie chew toy!" Duo said as he shifted the heavy bag of weapons on his shoulder, looking very uneasy after hearing Hotaru's story about the killer guard dogs. This place just was not people friendly.

       Hotaru turned to the braided-haired boy and realized he was right. They really were cutting it close. "Okay, follow me, but do not question my methods or else you are on your own," she roughly spoke, pushing the door open as she pulled her bag's strap more securely over her shoulder. With her back to the wooden doorframe, Hotaru surveyed the corridor, before signaling for Duo and Heero to follow; soon they were racing down the hall as fast as they could.

       "Oh shit!" Hotaru cursed after rounding a corner and nearly collided into several armed men in security uniforms before abruptly stopping in her tracks. The two ex-pilots skidded to a halt behind her, all three teens looked very nervous. There were way too many officers for even all three of them to handle, not to mention more were probably due to arrive. Sure enough, the opposite end of the hall also filled with guards, blocking both exits.

       "Oh great. We're surrounded," Duo, sighed as he stared wide-eyed at the guards, beginning to feel sick to his stomach. They were so out-numbered, that it wasn't even funny. 

       "Now what?" Heero inquired of Hotaru, who was trying to figure out a way to escape. Finally she had an idea. 

       "Listen carefully. If you take this hallway straight down, you'll come to an air conditioning duct, which has no screws holding it in place. Go inside and take it all the way until you can't go anymore. Then turn left and you'll come to another duct, break through it and you'll find yourself outside. Be as cautious as possible. There may be guards out there as well," she whispered to Heero and Duo who nodded their heads, accepting the plan.

       "What about you?" the perfect soldier questioned the girl as he reached slowly for his gun.

       "I'll distract them. Don't worry. I know several ways out of here. Please trust me on this one. As soon as I fire my gun, go and do not look back."

       "Firefly, what is the meaning of this?" a tall, lanky guard with light brown hair asked the girl, as he approached her.

       "I captured them on my way back to the lab, Sir. Shall I dispose of them?" Hotaru clearly said, with almost a robotic tone to her voice as the two ex-gundam pilots watched.

       "Good job, Firefly," the man praised as he stepped closer, to apprehend the intruders.      

       "Thank you Lieutenant," the violet-eyed girl said with a small smirk, as she aimed her pistol and fired, shooting the man at point-blank range as everyone stared in horror, including the two boys. "Don't just stand there! Get out of here!"

       Exchanging glances, Heero and Duo began sprinting across the hall, barrowing through the crowd of still stunned guards in the process.

       "She shot him!" one of the guards yelled, as he came to realization that the pretty little assassin had switched teams. "Kill her!"  

       'At least they'll be okay. Time for some fun,' Hotaru thought, dropping her bag to the floor, taking a deep breath as her reflexes took over. 

       Two very stupid men chose this moment to try rushing the girl, which resulted in a spinning kick to one's face and a sidekick to the other's gut and knee. Instant disablement. 

        'Okay, if I remember right. The parking lot is down that hallway through the east wing. Now just how do I go about this without dying?' she tried to decide, taking out two more men by sweeping their feet out from under them as they too advanced on Hotaru. 

       Getting fed up at the girl, the guards began firing their guns, one almost hitting the girl in the arm. "Amateurs." she muttered, reaching in her pocket, pulling out her favorite instant escape item, a can of tear gas. 

       Quickly the violet-eyed girl shot her gun into the ceiling for a diversion, as she threw the open can across the floor, then took off running as fast as possible before diving to the ground as it exploded, spewing tear gas throughout the hall. 

       "TEAR GAS!" the guards shouted covering their mouths as they coughed, gasping for air as the gas entered their lungs. The men's attempts to not breath in the fumes were futile. Before long, the security guards found themselves unconscious on the dirty floor.

       With a groan, Hotaru stumbled up to her feet, and began racing down the hall before the gas could even reach her, turning at the corner heading towards the east wing.

*~*~*~*

       Heero and Duo managed to safely make it to the air conditioning duct without too much trouble and were now crawling through the ventilation system heading to the left as Hotaru had instructed them.

       "Ugh! Man, this thing is heavy!" the chestnut brown-haired ex-pilot grunted as he struggled with the bag the dark-haired girl made him pack.

       Heero glanced at his friend behind him. "Why are you still carrying her stuff? What did she do? Pack her rock collection or something?"

       "No, not exactly. She has a much cooler collection than a bunch of rocks." Duo grinned shifting the bag on his shoulder. "The girl seems to have a pretty extensive weapon collection. We are talking 'Weapons R Us' here! Everything from clips and bullets, to tear gas and even a crossbow!" 

       "Hn." Heero replied deep in thought now. 'Well, I guess that shouldn't surprise me too much. Perhaps I've been wrong.'

       The boy behind him smirked as he continued, "Seems Hotaru likes things of destruction."

       "Shut up, Duo. We're getting close," the Perfect Soldier motioned to his friend as they stopped in front of another vent, which leads outside. 

       "About time! I'm starting to feel claustrophobic in here!"

       "Shh!" Heero silenced the talkative boy behind him as he carefully broke open the duct, feeling the breeze of the night air blow across his face, playing with his dark hair. 'So, she didn't trick us after all.'         

       Inspecting the area, quietly, the two teens jumped out of the small enclosed space and began walking fast away from the building. 

       "Now what?" Heero said briefly, searching for any sign of Hotaru or the guys for that matter.

       Suddenly, a black sports car screeched to a halt in front of the two ex-pilots, who were about to whip out their guns, when they recognized whom the driver was. 

       "Hurry up and get in!" Hotaru ordered urgently from the driver's seat of the black car.

       "You swiped a car?! A sports car at that?!" Duo exclaimed as both boys stared at the girl.

       "And you two have never stolen a car before?" she asked arching an eyebrow. "Get in now, or you're gonna be walking home."        

       The boys exchanged glances and climbed into the car as quickly as possible. Duo in the back and Heero in the front as Hotaru peeled out.

       "Wow, we actually made it!" the braided-haired teen grinned as he sat back.

       "We're not out of the woods yet," the girl sighed as she accelerated. "Make sure you have your seatbelts on. I don't want to lose anyone…. oh damn, hang on because here they come."

       Just as Hotaru spoke, the rear window shattered into a hail of glass courtesy of one of the three cars speeding behind them.

       "Hey!" Duo cried out as he leaned forward to protect his head. 

       "Shit. They're shooting at us," Heero growled as he turned around.

       "You think?!" the cobalt blue-eyed teen grumbled. "Damn it! There's a chunk of glass stuck in my hand!" Duo winced as he slowly pulled the clear object out of his skin, and then ripped off the sleeve to the janitor's uniform to bind the wound.

       The Perfect Soldier chose this moment to roll down his window and began firing at the assaulting cars behind them, successfully, blowing out a tire, forcing the driving to pull over. "One down."

       Hotaru was too busy trying to keep control of the car to pay any attention as to what was going on in the passenger and back seats. The road they were speeding on was deserted, completely out in the middle of nowhere, which for their situation, was a very bad thing. 

       'Okay, if I turn through this dirt trail... oh no, huge bump,' the violet-eyed girl thought as her eyes grew huge. "Brace yourselves. Big bump ahead," she said through gritted teeth to the teens, which dropped their guns as the car suddenly went airborne. 

       "AHHHHH!" 

       With a thud, they safely landed without tipping over, and once again, Hotaru's foot was glued to the accelerator as she flew down the extremely rocky trail in the middle of the woods.

       "Do you even know where you going?" Heero questioned the girl who nodded. 

       "That was cool!" Duo snickered as the other two cars behind them tried to do the same exact thing, but one ended up toppling over. "Hey! Only one car left!"

       "Good, hold on real tight. This should lose him," Hotaru said as she quickly spun the car around in a 180, spraying dirt in the process, and then sped off. The other driver also turned, but ended up crashing into a tree since his eyes were on the black sports car instead of where he was going. 'Wow, that actually worked.'

       Heero raised his eyebrows as smoke filled in the engine of the other car while the driver began spouting curses at the three teens. 'Not bad,' he thought as Duo bounced up and down in the backseat cheering.

       Pulling back up on the road, the girl speed off once again, tires squealing, down the street. "Heero, do you have your cell phone with you?"

       "Huh? Yeah, why?"

       Pushing a strand of hair out of her face she answered the dark blue-eyed ex-pilot. "Call Trowa and ask him to meet us at the at the downtown diner off of 53rd. I want to get rid of this car."

       "But aren't our fingerprints and everything in this car to begin with?" the braided-haired boy asked, as he scratched his head. "What good would getting rid of it do? They could track us down and accuse us of carjacking."

       "Yes, but this is actually the professor's car so it wasn't like I stole the keys or anything. I guess he never thought I'd revolt as long as his little toy was properly affixed to the inside of my ear. Anyway, the self-detonation device is going to go in oh, ten minutes so we really don't have to worry about fingerprints and such," Hotaru shrugged as something sparked in her eyes.  

       "WHAT?!" the two ex-pilots yelled as they gaped at the girl. 

       Heero looked at Hotaru as if she were insane. "Why the hell is the car going to explode?"         

       "There is a self-detonation device in this thing and it has just been activated. See the little flashing red button on the dashboard? The faster it goes, the less time we have. I'm just surprised they hadn't applied it earlier," the dark-haired girl sighed as she rounded a corner onto the highway before taking a quick exit off it again. "Don't worry, I'm know where exactly to take it."

       The three teens drove in silence until Hotaru finally pulled up in a vacant lot of a convenience store that had gone out of business several months ago, which made sense because it was practically the only sign of life for at least a mile.

       '"Two minutes," Hotaru weakly announced as they quickly gathered their things and rushed out of the car, running to the opposite side of the street, before throwing themselves to the ground as it exploded. 

       Slowly, the teens got to their feet, looking back at the wreckage. The nice little black sports car, which practically saved their lives, was now reduced to charred scrap metal, barely resembling what it once had been, an expensive sports car.

      "That was fun," Duo dryly said as he dusted the dirt off his pants before realizing that he was still wearing the janitor's uniform. With a shrug, the boy quickly, began tearing the clothing off. 

       Heero, decided to do the same, since he wasn't about to meet his friends or walk into a restaurant looking like he came specifically to fix their toilets.    

       As the boys stripped off the uniforms, Hotaru, kneeled back on the ground, and checked her bag, making sure nothing was broken. 'Good, everything is still intact and I still have the disks. Mission successful.'

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Don't worry the story isn't over yet. I just figure stopping at this part would work well otherwise; it'll be a really long chapter, lol. I'm just now starting to get into the plot of the story, which is going to happen, um, I'm thinking the Chapter 7 or 8, perhaps will be signaling the R rating. From there, the ex-pilots and Hotaru's lives will be hell, as my summary states, as reality begins to shatter like glass. 

As far as the coupling goes, I just wrote the scene. (writes scenes whenever they come to her even if it's not going to take place until later in the story) I think you'll like how I did it even though the circumstances for it are really; um bad would be a good word. You'll learn more later. But let's just say there is trouble. 

At the same time that part goes into play, I'll have another fic, which has another pairing in it. The other one you guys have mentioned, I may not do b/c then I'll have eight stories I'd be working on, lol.  

Um, if you're curious, yes, I am playing around with a few parts to the Sailor Moon world. I'm just twisting them around so yeah, I put that Hotaru likes destruction on purpose, (senshi of destruction) which with that much arsenal, you'd have to think she was destructive! ^_^

That's it for now. I have finals next week, so be surprised that this chapter made it! The next may not be out until following weekend, I'll warn you, but after that updates should be much more frequent.

Oh! By the way, as far as the action scenes go and there will be a lot of them, I've done martial arts for quite a few years, 5 to be exact, so I know when certain things will work or not. (you'll find this out later on. I actually had to act out one part, lol.) The only problem is trying to figure out what to call the move because I've done taekwondo, and it's Korean, lol. 

Thank you for the reviews! I'm obsessed with reading them now, lol. And I hope you enjoyed this chapter ^_^


	7. Red Dove

Shattered Reality Part 7

Red Dove

by

Sailor Janus

       The trio walked in silence, along the dark street towards the cafe in which they knew Trowa and the others would be expecting them to arrive any minute.

       Heero was still fairly surprised by Hotaru's abilities, especially the fact that she killed a man without even flinching. Vaguely, he could remember the time back in AC 196 when he promised himself he would not kill again. So far he had succeeded. "Why did you murder that man?" 

       "I really had no choice. No matter how many times I attempt not to be the cause of death, I still see red," Hotaru softly answered as she glanced down at the grass, moist with fresh dew.

       "So what was the deal with the blood you smeared on your shirt?" Duo curiously asked as the girl bit her lip. Clearly, this was not happy territory.

       After a deep sigh, Hotaru began to explain everything, "I have killed many times; with and without the device. The only difference is that when I'm programmed with the mind control disk, I can't concentrate on anything but the mission. Because of this, I am always unaware when I am wearing blood or other substances from my kill." 

       Absentmindedly she took a small handful of hair and gripped it, looking out of the corner of her eye at the ex-pilots. "Brains do not come out of silk."

       The two boys froze, as they stared in horror at her. 'What is this girl getting at?' Heero thought as he stared at her.

       "That was not to imply that I like to kill, generally, I'd rather find another way to complete a mission. The only reason I said the part about the brains, is because it was my first assassination attempt with that damn device and has been haunting me since I can remember," Hotaru explained as something dark flashed in her eyes. 

       'Waking up and finding yourself covered in blood and brain matter is not the easiest thing. That was the one and only mission I had the opportunity to decline. He was a peace seeker and a kind, well-known man. I didn't want to murder him, and firmly stated I did not want to be a part of the damn mission. Instead of accepting my refusal, they used that dreadful electronic device on me instead. Manipulating me for their benefit and not caring in the least bit about what type of impact it left.' the girl dropped her head as her thoughts raced in her head, pulling the bag she was carrying much higher on her shoulder. 'I killed him and wore his bodily fluids as a result. They need to pay.'        

       The three teens continued walking until they found themselves at the cafe, which was pleasantly opened during all hours. Soon the other ex-pilots greeted them.         

       "How did it go?" Trowa quietly asked as the three exhausted teens took a seat at their booth.

       "We ran into some trouble, but got what we needed," Heero explained, as Duo yawned tiresomely.

       "Yep, Hotaru, saved our butts twice," the long haired pilot groggily said as he placed his head on the table.

       "A weak woman saved your butts?" Wufei question the two boys as he raised his eyebrows.

       Hotaru glared at the Chinese pilot. "I am not a weak woman, Wufei. And if you do not believe me then I'll take you on anywhere, anytime, but right now, I am too tired to do so." With that the girl crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. 

       Wufei sat speechless, unable to believe that a girl would actually gladly fight him. That thought was just too foreign. There has to be more to Hotaru than what she seems.

       "I'd listen to her if I were you Wu-man. She has enough weapons to supply a small army." Duo yawned again; appearing as thought he was about to fall asleep on the tabletop. 

       "How did you three get here anyway?" Quatre questioned his friends. 

       The Perfect Soldier stifled a yawn as he answered. "Hotaru, stole a car which self-detonated about a mile back, so now we need a new ride home which is why you were asked to meet us here."  

       "It self-detonated?" the green-eyed circus performer asked arching an eyebrow. 

       "Yes, the professor included a self-destruction device in the car so he could blow it up if needed. Why? I have no idea," the dark-haired girl shrugged as she shivered. "All I can say, is at least there was the warning light, otherwise we'd be nothing more than charred pieces of oozing flesh amongst the metal debris strewn across the parking lot." 

       As a result to Hotaru's dark words, she found herself the center of attention, which was not too favored to the girl. 'I really need to learn to watch what I say,' she decided as she began looking at her hands. 

       The ex-pilots were suddenly shaken out of their stupor by the loud snores of the braided-haired teen. This made them realize how exhausted they really were deciding it would be a better idea to sleep and figure everything out in the morning. 

       After shaking the sleeping teen awake and paying for their drinks, mainly consisting of coffee, tea, and a coke, the six teens headed out the door when Hotaru froze in her tracks. "Question, where do I go? I don't exactly have a place to call home anymore," she inquired as she looked at the pilots who exchanged glances. 

       "Um, what do we do?" Duo asked through a large yawn as he stretched his long arms behind his head.

       "Good question, I mean, Trowa and I are staying with Wufei tonight since he has more space. I guess we kind of forgot about you Hotaru," the blonde Arabian sheepishly smiled. 

       Heero sighed, unable to believe what he was about to say or even why he was saying it. "You can stay with Duo and I if you want since you did practically save our lives and gave us the information we needed."

       "Thank you. I hate being a burden, but I have no place to go," the dark-haired girl softly said with a nod.          

       Quietly, they left the restaurant, and headed to the van, departing to their newest destination, home. 

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru found herself once again fully awake before the sun even had a chance to rise. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up on the couch and reached down into her travel bag, pulling out her laptop. 

       "Might as well, make use of the time I have and check out the disks," the dark-haired girl, clad in an old navy blue and white tank top with white sweatpants whispered to herself as she popped the disk into the compact computer and turned it on. 

       The screen soon changed from black to a background consisting of gray and dark blue with the words 'Iron Fist' scrawled across the top. 'Hmm, so now I know the organization's name. Let's see what other secrets you hold.'

       Soon the girl's fingers were dancing across the keys as her search for information began. Unfortunately, Hotaru did not find too much. Most was either self-explanatory, or very cryptic. 

       'Okay, it seems Nitol Stanz is the one in charge. Looks like he has a pretty big ego problem. He is practically posing in every single picture he is in. There is a little on my aborted mission, some reminders on a big meeting and...' the violet-eyed girl thought as she did a run through of the files, when suddenly a new page appeared. "What is this?"

       The words 'Project: Red Dove' were placed at the top of the page, but other than those three words, it was blank. 

       "Red Dove. What could that possibly mean?" Hotaru said aloud as she stared at the computer screen. "Whatever it is, it's serious. Damn it. Why couldn't they have put up more information?" 

       Carefully she removed the disk, and turned off the computer. 'If only I knew more about what was going on there, I could prevent whatever this Project: Red Dove is. I need something to drink.' she thought heading towards the kitchen.

*~*~*~*

       After sleeping for a few hours, Heero was back at his computer searching for information on the newest threat, which seemed to call themselves Iron Fist. 'Hn. Wonder if Hotaru knew of the name,' he speculated as he soon found himself staring at the words: Project: Red Dove. 

       "Find anything?"

       "Duo, Don't..." Heero began to say whipping his head around, expecting to see the braided-haired pilot, he instead found himself facing Hotaru. "Oh, it's you."

       The girl stood quietly in the doorway and took a sip of whatever was in her coffee cup. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Does Duo bother you often?"

       The boy dressed in a hunter green T-shirt and dark blue sweatpants turned back to his laptop and began typing frantically again. "Only when he comes in babbling that he's bored. He's never up this early which why I did not expect anyone to interrupt me." Heero paused to scratch his nose before continuing on. "Why are you up so early anyway? Can't sleep?"

       Hotaru leaned against the doorframe, briefly stretching out her back. "No. I never need much in the way of sleep for some reason." Taking another sip, the girl glanced over the Prussian blue-eyed ex-pilot's shoulder and added, "Looking through the files I see. Find anything useful?"

       "Hn."                

       "Well?" the girl pressed on.

       The Perfect Soldier sighed, "There is mention of your mission, and about a Project: Red Dove but it does not give specifics as far as what it means or when it is to take place."

       "Hmm, I got the same thing."

       Heero turned around in his chair and narrowed his gaze at the violet-eyed girl. "Then why did you ask?"

       "To make for certain that I was not missing anything," Hotaru shrugged. 

       "Hn," the boy grunted again, as he turned his attention back to the information displayed on the laptop. "You have quite a history."

       'Great he just had to copy those files too. Oh well,' the girl thought as she dropped her eyes to the floor. "So I see you have located my files as well. Find anything interesting?"

       "Your hit list is rather impressive."

       Hotaru took another sip from her cup. "And I'm sure your record is pretty colorful as well. The deaths of many world leaders focused on peace."

       "We were duped by Oz. Those men were not supposed to have been on that jet." Heero said through gritted teeth.

       "I had no control over my actions either. We're even as far as innocence is concerned," the girl explained as she focused on the boy's eyes before turning away. "I'll leave you alone since it's practically impossible talking to you."

       "Hn," the dark blue-eyed teen grunted turning his back to Hotaru as she left. 'What is her problem?' Heero thought while shutting down his computer.

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru walked back into the kitchen to pour some more tea. She was growing so frustrated over everything. Before her life had consisted of being manipulated into missions and intense training. Now she was in an endless down spiral because the damn programming device just had to bust, allowing her to reason freely. "When did everything change?" she softly said to herself.

       "Talk to yourself often?" a voice said from the shadows startling the girl who almost choked on her tea.

       Spinning around, she found that it was the voice of the Perfect Soldier. 

       "Sorry. Guess we're even," he quietly said, while opening a cupboard to retrieve a coffee cup and then some coffee grounds from a bag in the adjacent cupboard. "What is that?"

       Hotaru looked quizzically at the boy who was now boiling water before realizing that he meant what was in her cup. "Green tea with honey. Want to try some? It won't kill you. It's a lot better for you than coffee actually, but I'll admit, I'm addicted to that as well."

       Heero glanced up at the dark-haired girl from the steaming kettle of water. "No, thank you."

       Hotaru picked up her cup and strolled over to the table taking a seat. "Have any idea what Red Dove means?"

       The ex-pilot leaned over the counter top and shook his head. "I'm concerned about it though."                      

       "That makes two of us," the girl softly said as she nodded her head, ending the conversation.                

*~*~*~*

       The morning passed practically in silence. Duo was probably going to be sleeping in until noon like he usually did when he didn't have work or any missions to report to. Heero and Hotaru both retreated back to their respected laptops in hopes of cracking the mystery concerning Red Dove, but it was no use, the secrets remained concealed. 

       Later however, the day became a chaotic mess, which Hotaru could not seem to understand why Duo was freaking out. Sure he woke up late, but the cobalt blue-eyed teen shouldn't have to run around like a headless-chicken muttering something about, he can't find his tie, which was actually wrapped around his head.

       Sighing from both boredom of attempting to solve the Red Dove mystery and of curiosity, she decided, to check in with Heero. 'Perhaps, he can fill me in with whatever is going on.' Hotaru thought as she lightly knocked on his door. 

       Abruptly the door swung open revealing a rather annoyed looking Heero.

       "Sorry, but I was hoping you could tell me whatever is going on," the violet-eyed girl said as Duo ran frantically past them yelling something about his tie. "Well?"

       'Great should I tell her? Not to mention no one is going to be in the apartment and I do not like the idea of leaving her here alone.' Heero thought, not even realizing that the girl was staring at him expecting an answer. "Fine. We are expected at the Prime Minister of ESUN, Relena Peacecraft's Peace Summit tonight. It's also formal dress which is why Duo is probably running around like an idiot."

       "And why you are in tuxedo pants and a white dress shirt," Hotaru stated indicating to the teen's uncommon choice of clothing.

       Stiffly, Heero nodded. "Do you have a dress by any chance?"

       The girl blinked at the question. "Yes, but are you asking me to attend?"

       "Good, you can change in my room if you want. I'll finish up elsewhere, but hurry," the Perfect Soldier said walking out of the room with a jacket draped on one arm and his dress shoes and socks in the other hand. 

       Hotaru spun around quickly, catching Heero's arm, "Wait, why are you asking me?" 

       "Because I don't trust you here alone. Do you have a problem with that?"

       "No, trust is very vital. It should be earned and not handed out. I perfectly understand," the dark-haired girl said as she removed her hand.  

       Heero nodded his head and walked off as Hotaru watched from the doorway before leaving to find her favorite gown.

*~*~*~*

       "That was nice that you to ask Hotaru to accompany us," Quatre smiled from the couch up at Heero wore was adjusting the collar to his jacket.

       "Hn. I only asked because I didn't want her left alone in my apartment."

       Just then Duo finally made his entrance, dressed in a black tuxedo. "Do we look sharp or what?!" he grinned.

       "So are we all ready?" Trowa asked as he dusted a speck of lint off his gray pants.

       "Still waiting for Firefly," Heero said as he fixed his sleeves. He really hated wearing dress clothes. It wasn't like he was going to impress everyone with all the money he did not possess.

       "Stupid slow weak woman has to keep us all waiting, " Wufei grumbled as he crossed his arms over his navy blue jacket. 

       "Um, Wufei, I'm standing right here," Hotaru softly said from the doorway of Heero's room. 

       The five guys turned at the sound of the girl's voice and appeared stunned as they stared at her.

       She wore a long black lace dress with bright purple satin underneath which appeared to be a rich dark violet color granted by the black lace. Two thin black velvet spaghetti straps held up the empire waist top as the rest of the dress fell to floor covering her black high heel sandals. The black lace was covered in small black velvet flowers with a tiny amount of silver glitter. Hotaru also wore a thin silver choker as well as a bracelet. The sides of her hair were pulled back, held in place by a silver barrette, sparing only a few face-framing ringlets. 

       "Wow," Duo managed to say as he continued gawking at the girl.

       "You look beautiful," the blonde Arabian quietly complimented as Trowa nodded in agreement.

       Wufei nodded as well, slightly blushing from embarrassment because Hotaru heard him insult her.    

       Um, thank you. You all look great too," Hotaru said quickly, not really knowing what to expect. She hated being the center of attention.                               

       Heero however stood frozen, unable to take his eyes off of her. Thankfully the girl didn't notice because she was too busy locating her gun in the small purse she was holding. 

       Finally the Perfect Soldier shook himself out of his previous shocked state and looked away as he cleared his throat. " We should go now."                    

       "Right, Relena would hate it if we were late," the blonde said as all six teens headed for the door.          

*~*~*~*

       The large conference hall was immensely crowded. The chatter of the multitudes of people was almost deafening as the teens tried to carefully inch their way to the front before the summit was to begin. 

       "At least with this many people Relena won't notice that we are a little tardy," Quatre shrugged as he tried to keep up with the others.

       Hotaru felt extremely uncomfortable. Being here was rearing so many haunting memories of past missions, that the girl was almost terrified of being recognized. 

       Suddenly a tall white-haired man spun around and pointed at the girl as he shouted, "You!" 

       Hotaru felt all the color in her face drain as she stared at the man like a deer caught in headlights. "I-"

       Heero, at this moment, realized that the dark-haired girl was no longer following them, and quickly turned on his heel, surprised that Firefly was right behind him, gaping at an elderly gentleman. 'Why is she just standing there?' he contemplated, reaching out and grabbing the girl by the arm, and pulling her away. "Come on."             

       Hotaru blinked as she came to her senses. "I think he recognized me." 

       "Don't turn into a statue next time," the Prussian blue-eyed ex-pilot muttered, as he walked Hotaru to where the others were waiting. 

       "What happened?" Trowa asked quizzically, as Heero and Hotaru finally caught up with them. 

       "She thinks she was recognized." the boy said, crossing his arms. 

       Just then, Relena Peacecraft walked out on to the stage as everyone began to applaud. 

       Relena smiled and began her speech, "Thank you. I am very pleased to see every one of you here tonight. It has been two years since peace as reigned over Earth and the colonies alike."  

       As the pacifist princess continued, Hotaru however, could not seem to pay attention. Something was gravely troubling her. 

       "Oh, I think I'm going to die from boredom," Duo grumbled as Wufei smacked him in the back of the head.

       "Shut up."

      The violet-eyed girl bit her lip as she tried to contemplate further on the mystery of Project: Red Dove. 'Maybe it's a code which means something completely different.' she thought. 'Red Dove. What could it possibly mean? There is no such thing as a red dove..... Wait, a dove symbolizes peace and they are traditionally white. However when a dove is killed, it bleeds, staining the feathers red. Red Dove, blood is red. For a dove to become red, it would have to lose a large amount of blood, which would kill it. A killed dove?'  Slowly, Hotaru glanced up at Relena Peacecraft, hoping she didn't appear as if she lacked interest in the speech. 

       Blinking, the girl suddenly gasped. 'Peacecraft. Red Dove isn't a dead bird it's....'  Hotaru wildly thought as she realized exactly what the mission was. "Oh shit." she said, racing towards the stage.

       "What is her problem?" the Chinese teen asked he along with his friends watched the girl run.

       "Something isn't right," Heero muttered as he stalked off, to figure out exactly why Hotaru freak out like she did. 

       "Huh?" Duo said as his friend leave. 

       Shrugging the ex-pilots that were left turned their attention back to the Prime Minister Peacecraft's boring speech. "Peace could not have taken place if it..."

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru frantically looked around the stage. 'Damn it, where are you?' she thought when suddenly a guard from the left wing of the stage took out a pistol, aiming it at a very unaware Relena Peacecraft.

       Everything then sickenly seemed to happen in slow motion.

       Hotaru snatched her gun from inside her purse, firing at the assassin who shot twice at Relena, each successfully hitting their target, as Hotaru's own bullet, pierced the killer in the heart. Suddenly, screams filled the air as the blonde pacifist fell on top of the podium. As the dark-haired girl stared in shock, blood was gushing out of the holes in Relena's back and head, staining her blonde hair a red color.  

       "NOOOO! MISS RELENA PEACECRAFT IS DEAD!"       

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Sorry it took me so long to write this chapter but finals are evil. 

       This is also begins my R rating as well as subject change. I feel suspense is the best rating for this story. Oh, I have also revised the previous chapters so yay me.

       Anyone wondering why I killed Relena off, I will tell you there is a very valid reason that does not consist of keeping her from mooning after Heero. Kind of follows under the whole Shattered Reality theme. More will be explained in the next chapter. 

       Oh, and if anyone wonders who the couple is. I have a hint for you. Read carefully how each guy interacts with Hotaru. I think I have made it pretty much obvious right now, but their romance won't officially begin for a few chapters I'm guessing, 10 or 11 but it's a really touching moment ^_^ 

       That's it for now!      


	8. Cracked Glass

Shattered Reality Part 8

Cracked Glass

by

Sailor Janus

       Hotaru could not believe her eyes. She was too late; Relena Peacecraft had been successfully assassinated. Slowly the girl lowered her gun, sinking to her knees, as she watched a small crimson puddle grow on the stage. The screams of the audience were barely audible to Hotaru. All she could see was the lifeless body of the pacifist princess. 'I was too late Damn it.'

*~*~*~*

       The four ex-gundam pilots stared in horror. That did not just happen. Relena Peacecraft, the one true symbol of peace, did not just die. 

       "Relena... she's dead," Trowa managed to whisper as Quatre shook his head in denial.

       "But, why?! How could someone have just murder Relena?!" the blonde shouted, near tears. 

       "Who killed her? It wasn't Hotaru was it? I mean she did freak out, but..." Duo began to say, but froze, it was just too eerie that Relena was now dead. 

       "She did not deserve to die that way. Relena was practically robbed," Wufei quietly spoke with his head bowed. 

*~*~*~*

       Heero could not believe it. Relena Peacecraft was dead. There was no way a person with that much blood loss could have survived. It didn't feel real for some reason. The first time he met the blonde, he wanted to kill her but couldn't. In fact, he tried several times, but could never pull the trigger. Heero knew that she was once infatuated with him if not in love and though it may have seemed he felt the same at times, he knew he was unable of possessing those feelings, they simply could not exist.  Not to mention the fact that Relena seemed to only want to change him irked Heero.  

       Nonetheless, she was pure-hearted and only wanted what was best for the world, even when the rest of the world did not seem to agree with her. 

       He couldn't think of the past any longer. Right now, he needed to find Hotaru and get them all out, but somehow, Heero lost sight of the dark-haired girl. "Great, where the hell did she go?"

       Suddenly, he saw the girl, sitting on her knees looking bewildered at the stage where everyone was fussing about Relena's dead body. Quickly he walked up to her. 

       "Get up."

       Slowly, Hotaru turned her head, finding herself staring up at the Perfect Soldier. "Heero, I tried to stop them. I didn't kill Relena Peacecraft, I swear," she quickly defended herself as the boy hauled her up to her feet by the arm. 

       Swiftly, he led her to the other pilots, still gripping her arm. "I know you shot the assassin. He fired twice, and you fired once."

       The girl blinked at him. "You believe me?"

       "I don't know, but something is not right here. We need to leave, now," Heero said calmly as they walked up to the other four teens, which had stunned expressions on their faces. "This was too neatly done."

         Hotaru nodded her head in agreement. "It was Project: Red Dove. The dove represents peace and the red is blood or a killed dove. Project kill Peacecraft was accomplished before our very eyes. I just figured it out too late."

       The four ex-pilots looked surprised when they saw Heero almost dragging Hotaru up to them. 

       "Hotaru didn't, did she?" Quatre asked wiping his face. He hated to see anyone die like Relena did. At least it was quick, and hopefully painless.

       "No. She killed the murderer. We just witnessed the accomplishment of Project: Red Dove. The death of Relena Peacecraft," Heero grimly said. "We need to get out of here."

       Casually the six teens began to head towards the door, as to not draw attention to themselves. Trowa and Wufei were leading the way with Heero still tightly gripping Hotaru's arm in the center and Quatre and Duo taking up the rear.  

       Once outside the groups separated into two, agreeing to meet at Heero and Duo's apartment as they parted with very few words said between them. 

*~*~*~*

       Each car was silent. Even the talkative braided-haired ex-pilot was at lost for words. There had to have been more to Relena's death than a simple assassination. 

       Hotaru felt like she was walking in a deep fog. Nothing seemed real anymore. It was as if she was in a dream world and would awake any moment. If only she could wake up from this nightmare. 

       Deciding that they really needed to get their minds off of what they witnessed, Duo reached over and turned on the radio. Just as Heero was about to protest, a special news report began, nearly causing the dark blue-eyed teen to swerve off the road.

       _"This just in. Officials are on a look out to apprehend the suspects in charge with the murder of the Prime Minister of ESUN, Relena Peacecraft, during her peace summit. Witnesses say a dark-haired young woman ran up to the stage and fired twice, killing Peacecraft instantly before turning her gun on a guard, slaughtering him as well. From there the woman left with five young gentlemen. Ages are said to range from late teens early twenties. Please approach these individuals with caution. They are said to be armed and dangerous."_

       "What the hell?! I didn't kill Miss Relena Peacecraft!" Hotaru gaped, feeling outraged. 

       Duo looked equally pissed off, as Heero carefully pulled over to the side of the road, placing the car in park. "What a load of bull shit! We did not partake in her assassination!"

       "Shh, there's more," the stoic teen said. 'Please don't let this be what I think it is.' Unfortunately, he was correct.

       "I have word that the suspects have been identified as Trowa Barton, male, age 19; Duo Maxwell, male, age 19; Hotaru Tomoe, female, age 18; Quatre Winner, male, age 19; Chang Wufei, male, age 19; and Heero Yuy, male, age 19. Please approach..."

       Quietly Heero turned the radio off. No one knew what to say at this point. They had names, and probably pictures as well. Since when did hell come to earth? 

       "Now, what? We are wanted criminals," Duo, sighed as he stared wide-eyed at the radio. This can't be reality. What the hell just happened?

       "We'll go back to the apartment as we said, and figure things out from there," Heero calmly said, as he put the car into drive and sped off.  

*~*~*~*

       Finally the black car settled in front of the tall apartment complex which Heero and Duo both reside in. The others would arrive any second unless of course they ran off the road due to the unpleasant news broadcast.

       Carefully, the dark-haired girl climbed out of the car, still feeling weak from the shock. Hopping out after her was the chestnut brown-haired teen who began racing towards the apartment he calls home. Last was Heero, who was walking rather briskly towards Hotaru, and once again took the girl by the arm practically, dragging her up the steps. 

       At this moment, the car containing Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei had parked in the visitor's lot. Curiously, they watched Heero and Hotaru leave, before they too began up the stairs towards the apartment. 

*~*~*~*

       Duo just about spit out a mouth full of cola as the Perfect Soldier slammed the door open. Quietly he watched his friend pull the violet-eyed girl into the room, and shove her back against the wall, pinning her against the flat surface by her shoulders.

       "Heero!"

       "Shut up Duo," the blue-eyed teen snarled before directing his attention back to Hotaru who was staring at him completely emotionless. "What the hell kinds of games are you playing?"

       "I don't know what you are talking about," the girl softly answered as she watched the other three ex-pilots enter the room. Luckily Duo motioned for them to not say a word as they watched in horror as their friend interrogated the girl further.

       Heero narrowed his gaze at the teenaged girl as he clutched her arms tighter. "Don't play innocent with me. You knew they were planning on killing Relena Peacecraft, didn't you? Didn't you?! Answer me!" 

       "No, I did not. I knew just as much about that project as you did," Hotaru calmly answered. She knew it would be very simple to free herself from the frustrated ex-pilot's grasp, but for some reason, didn't bother. The dark-haired girl didn't have the drive to do it anyway, not to mention, the results would be rather painful on Heero's behalf and that was not her goal. 

       "Liar." Heero growled as he brought his face closer to the point where Hotaru could feel his hot breath on her face. 

       "I am telling you the truth. I tried to stop the killer but I was too late." 

       The Perfect Soldier stared into Hotaru's violet eyes as he shook his head. "No, you conveniently killed him which gave cause to frame us successfully. The 'I want revenge,' has been nothing more than an act, wasn't it? Wasn't it?!" 

       "No! I am sorry that Relena Peacecraft was killed. I am sorry all of you have been accused of her murder. I am sorry all of our lives right now are in the crapper, but I am not sorry for deceiving Iron Fist and joining you guys. If only you'd believe me," the girl firmly said as she began shaking a little. "I was nothing more than a pawn, a useless game piece for them to manipulate at will. Once I broke free, everything began to change. I now have control over my own destiny."

       Hotaru dropped her eyes to the floor as she continued. "I tried to stop her assassination. Unfortunately, I realized what Red Dove stands for too late. Please listen to me when I say that I had no part in her death." Taking a deep breath the girl raised her gaze back to Heero's cold eyes as well as to the small audience. "I am still willing to offer my aid if you will accept it despite the way I've been treated."

       The other pilots appeared as if they would say yes, but the Perfect Soldier was much more stubborn. 

       "Bull shit. I should have the right mind to blow your head off."

       Hotaru stared deep into his eyes. "Then why don't you? Is it because you are worried about getting blood on the carpet or because you are afraid of being wrong?"

       "Damn you," he growled as Hotaru held her gaze into Heero's deep sapphire blue eyes.

       "Too. Late. I've already been damned enough for everyone in this apartment." 

       Heero blinked at the teenaged girl's words, slightly faltering. There was something about her eyes. Then he realized it. She did not care. She was trying to find a purpose for her existence since she no longer was consent to completing her given mission. 'Could that be why she is so compelled to work with us or is there another objective?' 

       "You don't even want to know what kind hell I have been through, let alone survive it. I am quite amazed that I am still breathing today with all those damn tests, experiments, and what they call training. I don't think broken bones are a normal part of training, do you?" Hotaru looked away, as she ended her speech. "Believe me when I say, that I no longer want to be affiliated with that hell hole, they call a federation. I'd rather die in a meat grinder than go back there."

       The room fell completely silent as the girl stared at the pale blue carpet. She was tired of arguing and tired of the memories she was constantly plagued with. For once, she wanted no more than to be trusted without being used in the process. 

       Heero relaxed his grip, slowly backing away from the girl who appeared completely lost. He didn't know what to say or even do at this point. There were so many unanswered questions that it was driving him crazy. 

       Hotaru slowly slumped down the wall to the floor as she wrapped her arms around herself. Her dress was already torn so why should she care about wrinkles anyway?

       "Um, guys, they have pictures too," Duo announced, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Quickly everyone excluding the girl, raced for the television set and sure enough, all six of their faces were plastered on the screen. 

       "Can someone explain to me what the hell just happened?!" Wufei angrily shouted looking more than a little upset.

       "They have gained control," Hotaru quietly said as she rose to her feet, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

       "What?" Trowa asked as they turned to face the girl.

       "They have gained control. Think about it. Many pacifist leaders have been killed through the years; I myself have been the cause of several. This wasn't plotted over night; it's been a plan that took years of development. Nothing in the last few years that has occurred was coincidental. Everything was arranged for a reason and reality is shattering as we know it." 

       The blonde nodded his head in agreement. "Hotaru does have a very valid point. This wasn't just a simple murder, but a part of something very big. This question is, what is the master plan?"

       "My guess is world domination," the dark-haired boy with the deep blue eyes simply answered. 

       "Of course the old, 'Rule the world' gag. Doesn't it get a little old?'" the chestnut brown-haired ex-pilot muttered, rolling his eyes in disgust.

       "So, what now? They'll probably investigate our whereabouts which means it'd be a good idea to leave the city, but where exactly can we go?" the Chinese teen said, feeling concerned for all of their well-beings. The pilots have been persecuted before, but not for the cause of murder. Punishment may be more severe than that of a rebel. 

       "Damn it! This worked out pretty convenient for them. Since they couldn't kill us, why not blame us?" Duo grumbled as he sat on the arm of the couch with is arms crossed.

       Quatre shook his head. "They probably still want to eradicate us though. It'll just be easier if everyone else is out on the search as well."

       "We leave. Everyone pack a bag or two and meet back here in an hour. We'll take the van," the Perfect Soldier decided as the others nodded in agreement.

       "It would possibly be wise to alter our appearances somewhat," Trowa suggested. "Especially since there is probably a manhunt out for us."

       "I think I have a few ideas as far as that goes," Hotaru quietly said. "Change into something you normally never wear and make sure you have either a hat or sunglasses as well as a jacket. We may have to trade clothes around."

*~*~*~*

       "Hey Heero! Which sunglasses are better?" Duo asked holding up two pairs as he walked into the kitchen where his friend had a mix of clothes and weapons spread out on the table.

       "Either. Now leave me alone. I still need to figure out how to get everything I need in this bag." the boy said, uninterested as he concentrated on his bigger concern.

       The chestnut brown-haired teen grinned sheepishly as he replied, glancing around the room. "Oh, sorry. Hey, where's Hotaru?" 

       "Changing in my room." 

       At that moment, the mentioned girl walked out into the kitchen carrying her torn, wrinkled dress and was now clad in a pair of dark blue jeans, a dark blue long sleeved-shirt and a black hooded zip-up sweatshirt with white sneakers. "Sorry, for taking so long," she simply apologized, throwing her dress in one of her bags. It wasn't stained so Hotaru could still probably repair it.

       Heero nodded his reply when suddenly the doorbell rang. Exchanging glances, the three teens moved towards the door, and peered through the peephole. Relieved, they discovered it was only Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei.

       "Any trouble?'" the Perfect Soldier asked as he let them in. 

       "Surprisingly, no," the tall green-eyed boy answered dropping his gray duffle bag to the ground.

       The blonde Arabian looked sadly as his friends, swinging his own tan bag to the carpeted floor. "I still can't believe this is happening."

       All the faces in the room appeared either gloomy, or unreadable as they nodded their heads in agreement. One thing was for sure; the tension was extremely thick.

       Hotaru stood quietly, as she pulled her dark hair up into a ponytail. 'This is my entire fault. If only I could have figured out what Red Dove meant earlier, and shot that asshole before he killed Relena, we wouldn't have to run.'

       "Trowa, give your coat to Duo and Duo tuck your braid under it," the girl ordered as her eyes shifted from one boy to the other.

       "What?" both teens said in unison.

       Hotaru sighed, "Trowa's coat is long enough to hide the end of Duo's braid, this way he won't stick out because of it."

       Obediently, The green-eyed ex-pilot removed his tan trench coat and tossed it to Duo who accepted it, pulling the long coat on. Amazingly, it actually worked perfectly.

       The dark-haired girl also had a few more ideas for the boys which resulted in a few protests but eventually everyone ended up satisfied with their new look, consisting of Heero ending up in a white sweater thrown over his green tank top, with light blue jeans, his dark blue jacket and a black hat which pulled his long bangs out of his face since he refused the hair gel. 

Duo had to change into a long sleeved black T-shirt, with Trowa's tan coat and a pair of black jeans. Quatre now had on a red sweatshirt underneath a dark denim jacket with dark blue jeans and his bangs parted in the center.  Wufei, had to wear a white long sleeved shirt, navy blue sweatpants along with a blue hat. Trowa was last one for the makeover, which resulted in his bangs completely, gelled off his face, a green sweatshirt, and khakis.

       "It'll have to do," Hotaru decided as everyone picked up their bags and headed outside.

*~*~*~*

       The van was extremely quiet other than Duo snoring in the back. Everyone was both exhausted and on edge, especially Trowa who was given the duty of driving them to the Preventer's Headquarters. The ex-pilots knew Sally Po and Lady Une believed the teens were framed. From there, they will have to find some other place to go since searching the Headquarters for the five boys and one girl, was logical enough since three of them had positions there to begin with. 

       Suddenly, just as the van pulled in towards the parking lot of the Preventer's Headquarters, the building erupted into a huge explosion throwing shards of glass and chunks of concrete and shrapnel everywhere as the six teens gaped in horror.

       "HOLY SHIT!" Duo, who was awakened by the detonation, yelled as Trowa quickly backed the van up, tires squealing, to get them out of harm's way as the demolished building began to collapse in front of them.

       "This can't be happening," Quatre softly said from the passenger seat, watching the tall building crumbled to the ground. Flames soon scorched whatever was still standing, while thick black smoke bellowed into the air, rising higher in the sky.

       "Guess we don't have to worry about going into work for awhile," the chestnut brown-haired teen grimly said. 

       Heero growled as he stared at the building, or what was left of it. 'What the hell is happening? Why are these people after us?'

       Trowa parked in a safe location as Wufei quickly dialed Sally on his cell phone. Suddenly his face fell as he stumbled over his own words, "It-it's not going through. You don't think they were in there do you?"

       No one answered. First Relena was murdered, then the ex-pilots were framed, and now their safe shelter had been destroyed, no one even wanted to think of the possibility that more lives may have been claimed.

       "We better get out of here now. The authorities will be here any moment, and for us to be on the premises when we have been accused of murder is not a bright idea." Hotaru quietly said. 'It's happening. Damn them.' 

       Heero nodded his head, surprised that he was actually coinciding with the girl who presumably confused him more by the minute.  "I have to agree with Firefly. Trowa get us out of here."

       With that, the circus performer set the car back into drive, and sped off, leaving the destroyed building to continue it's doomed destiny to become nothing more than a pile of ashes and rubble.

*~*~*~*

       Determining that food would be the best idea, Trowa parked in front of a small grocery store, so they could grab a few items, in case they were not able to safely find a place to eat at. However, the van was not the most peaceful place since everyone was still highly nervous and aggravated. In fact, everything fell to pieces once Trowa, Hotaru, Quatre, and Heero, arrived back at the van from the store, exploding into a large fight fueled by everyone's rage and fears.

       "Hey! Will you stop insulting me!" Duo shouted heatedly as the quartet climbed into the van, glaring at the Chinese teen.

       "But it's the truth," Wufei sneered at the braided-haired teen who had a disgusted look on his face. 

       "Will you two calm down," Trowa asked which sounded more like an order, rolling his eyes.

       The onyx-eyed ex-pilot however was so angry that he was willing to lash out at anyone who even challenged him, "Oh look! He actually talks!"

       "Wufei..." Heero said almost threateningly, growing sick of the boy's attitude.

       Wufei instead snickered, "What are you going to do, Yuy? Shoot me? Kill me? Mr. Perfect Soldier!" 

       "Shoot him Heero!" Duo yelled, still pissed off about the insults as the stoic teen fumed, grabbing Wufei by the collar of his shirt.

       "Duo! Heero! Stop it!" Quatre shouted as he dropped a plastic bag of food consisting mainly of prepackaged goods such as crackers and juice boxes, in the back. 

       The American instead smirked, "What are you gonna do Quatre? You're the peace lover, oh wait, she's dead AND SCREWED US ALL OVER! Are you gonna go insane again or something?"

       The blonde narrowed his gaze at the irate boy. "At least I don't LOOK LIKE A GIRL!" 

       "Yeah, well you act like one," Duo challenged back resulting in Quatre punching him hard in the face bruising the chestnut brown-haired teen's jaw and giving him a fat lip.

       Hotaru stared at Heero, Wufei, and Trowa insulting each other as Duo and Quatre began swinging fists. 'This is so inane! Why can't they see that fighting with each other is not going to help our damn situation in the least bit?' The violet-eyed girl had enough with the senseless brawling. "Will all of you knock it off?" she shouted, attempting to stand up without hitting her head on the low ceiling of the van.

       "Stay out of this!" the fighting ex-pilots yelled to the girl who glared at them as she hopped out of the frenzied vehicle.

       "Fine. If you people can't keep your heads on then I guess I'll go," the girl spat as she stomped away from the van filled with teenaged boys who were completely losing control.  

       "Damn, she's right. We are battling the wrong people," Heero sighed as he let go of Wufei's shirt. At this time, everyone else calmed down, realizing how stupid they were acting. 

       "Should go after her?" Duo asked as he rubbed his swelling jaw. 

       "Yes. Firefly is just as wanted for murder as the rest of us," the Perfect Soldier said as he jumped out of the van followed by the others who felt equally guilty for making the girl leave.

       "Hey, Hotaru! Wait up!" Quatre called out from across the parking lot when suddenly a large van came out of nowhere, screeching to a halt in front of the girl who stared in terror before she began racing away from it.               

       The boys rushed to other side, making it just in time, to see Hotaru trying to fight off five men. Quickly, they sprinted towards the fight when two more vans pulled up in front of them, blocking their rescue attempt. 

       "Damn it. Now what?" Heero muttered as ten huge guys climbed out of the new vans. 

       "Oh Crap," Duo cursed, realizing that things were about to get a whole lot worse.      

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru tried to hold her own, but these guys were huge. 'If only I had a weapon or two,' she thought, spinning into a back kick, knocking wind out of one guy followed by a side kick, tossing him to the ground, finishing the job. 

       As she completed her attack, one of the bulky men grabbed her from behind. "We have a few issues about you joining those pilots, Firefly. And don't you dare think punishment will be taken lightly," he growled in Hotaru's ear.

       The dark-haired girl struggled to loosen the blonde-haired man's grip before quickly bending forward with all her might, throwing the hulk off her.

       Before, Hotaru even had time to react; she was kicked in the back, resulting in her skidding to a halt on the pavement. Wincing, she could feel the scrapes on her hands, as tiny pieces of dirt began embedding itself into her skin. 

       "We don't like traitors and feel you should be taught a lesson," a tall red head leered over her.

       Hotaru glared at him, quickly flipping up to her feet. As she turned around she realized that she was completely surrounded. Urgently the girl tried to do a jump split kick, but was forced to the ground by two men who gripped her arms tightly. 'They must have sent reinforcements. Damn them,' she thought, when a sharp pain pierced her neck and soon everything became blurry. With a groan, she collapsed to the hard ground. 

*~*~*~*

       The five ex-gundam pilots didn't know how much longer they could hold on. 'What are these guys taking? Steroids?'  was the common thought coursing through their heads. Normally it was easy taking on two or even three people at the same time no matter their size, but these hulk-like guys were impossible. Each teen was presently a bruised and bloody mess.

       Heero swung his head around after being brutally kicked in the gut. Out of the corner of his eye he was managed to see Hotaru in her own battle, but suddenly saw a scene, which made him panic. She had fallen to the ground, and had not gotten up.   

  The Perfect Soldier was shaken out of his thoughts when one of the men shouted, "Hey! We got the girl! You can kill those five later! We have to go!"

       With a final kick or punch, which sent the five teens sailing to the ground in agony, the bulky men left in their vans, speeding off to who knows where.

       "Shit! They got her!" Heero shouted as he slammed his bloody fist to ground. The Perfect Soldier had cut his knuckles when he punched one of his attackers in the mouth. The pain didn't even faze him. He had bigger problems to worry about now. 

       Duo sat up from where he was sprawled out on the ground, gingerly touching his split lip. "And from the sound of it, she's in for a trip to hell."

       "Now what?" Wufei warily asked, kneeling on the ground as he wiped the blood off of his face. Things have just gone from bad to worse.

       "We have to get Hotaru back. There is probably a very good reason they took her," the Perfect Soldier said with determination in his voice as he stared coldly where the first van was once parked as he thought, 'The question is, what are they planning to do to her? She already stated her life was in danger. Looks like she has proven it. Damn them.'      

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Thank you for the reviews once again. This is probably one of my favorite stories that I have been writing so I'm glad you all are enjoying it. Can I create suspense or what?  And yes, this is the shattered reality I spoke of in my summary; I just couldn't start it out with reality already broken because that is no fun. 

       Be prepared, because I am going to have quite a few surprises in store, which explains why Hotaru is not everything, she seems to be. The next chapter however is going to be pretty intense, (thus the R rating) so bare with me, because everything happens for a reason in this story. Romance will hit in either Chapter 9 or 10 and will kind of remain from then on.       

I'll have the next chapter up around Sun-Tues, depending on if the site is down again. ^_^      


	9. Little Girl Lost

Shattered Reality Part 9

Little Girl Lost

by

Sailor Janus

*~*~*~*

       Groaning, the ex-gundam pilots stumbled off the ground. This was definitely the worst beating that they had ever experienced. The teens would surely be feeling it for weeks.

       Quatre winced as he touched the side of his head. He was bleeding but not too badly. "I would have to agree with Heero. We need to try to bring her back. Hotaru must be in severe danger if those people went to all this trouble in kidnapping her." The blonde felt sorry for the girl. Things were already rough enough as it is.

       "Ow, damn, that hurts," Duo grumbled as he tried to stretch out his sore back, which was granted by the thug who practically threw the boy across the parking lot, crashing onto the mentioned body part. "So what are we going to do now? Make it a rescue mission?"

       "I would have to agree as well. What would be the most logical place to look?" Trowa said, as he limped along with the others back to their van.  

       Wufei nodded as he clutched his throbbing hand, "Station Red seems the most valid, after all, it is the experimental base."

       "What a better place to submit Hotaru to torture... poor girl," the braided-haired teen muttered as he crossed his arms. "Any idea what to do first?" 

       Heero didn't part his cold steely gaze from where the vans once stood, glancing over his shoulder, "First we set a plan. Then move out." 

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru's eyes slowly fluttered open. At first she did not recognize her surroundings when suddenly it hit her. The girl knew exactly where she was. The last place she ever wanted to be caught dead in, Station Red. This was definitely going to be hell.

       Wincing as she lifted her head, the dark-haired girl discovered that she was lying on the floor and that her hands as well as her feet were shackled. Carefully she tried to sit up, but was forced back down by throbbing pain in her back. 'Damn, that jerk. Doesn't he know that kicking a person in the back is fighting dirty?'

       "You disappoint me Firefly," a voice from above said as Hotaru was grabbed by both of her arms, forced to her feet by two guards. She found herself staring at none other than Professor T.

       "You mean your piece of crap mind-controlling device disappoints you. I never changed until you found that awful thing," the violet-eyed girl said with venom in her voice, glaring at the white-haired, spectacled man.

       The professor chuckled, "You mean created."

       "I didn't stutter. You were not the one who created that thing. Your methods are much more sloppy not to mention you lack the genius it takes because all of your great inventions are someone else's. You're a fraud," the girl spat as she focused her eyes on the man's face. 

       "You must be disciplined for disobeying."

       Hotaru stood limply, never removing her violet gaze from the man's face. "Funny, because I never agreed to your precious mission. You forced me into it."

       "You are my possession!" the furious scientist shouted appearing as though he were about to slap the girl, who never flinched as he swung his hand close to her face but dropped it.

       The dark-haired girl stared at the man with so much hatred that she could have burned a hole right through him. "I am no one's possession. You do not own me." Closing her eyes in mocking innocence, Hotaru continued. "I was an insolent orphan remember? You used me!"

       "You! I cre-" the professor began, as his anger increased like rapid fire but Hotaru held on strong.

       "Created me? Brainwashed is more like it. Go ahead, Slap me, kill me. Do whatever you damned well please. I am ready to die," the girl proudly said raising her head up high as she hardened her gaze. "Besides, you are probably going to kill me anyway."

       "Of course dear Firefly and I shall grant your death wish as well. Eddan please keep watch over her. I must leave momentarily," Prof. T ordered a tall lanky dark-haired guard. "I have to get something special for Firefly here."

       Hotaru glared as she began charging at the white-haired man only to be pulled away. "Just as I thought. You never did care or love me. I was merely a puppet for you to manipulate."

       The man chuckled as he nodded his head in praise. "You are correct Firefly. I needed a human, preferably young, to train and experiment with. It was very convenient that your parents both died in the laboratory explosion."

       "Did you cause the fire?" the girl asked as she struggled against the guard swinging her head around.  

       "I'd be lying if I said no. You father and I were great rivals, but he was always one step ahead of me, so I had to eliminate him. The faulty experiment was rather brilliant," Professor T smirked.

        "I despise you and hope you burn in hell," Hotaru growled with a look that could have made him drop dead if the possibility existed. 

       The Professor laughed at the raging girl. "We shall see who dies first," he simply said as left he room.

       "Shit!" the dark-haired girl cursed as she stomped her foot on the floor in frustration. 

       "Such a dirty word, for such a pretty girl," the guard, Eddan whispered to Hotaru as he ran a hand through her dark locks. "You know, it's a shame you must die."

       The violet-eyed girl shot a dirty look at the man as she jerked away. "Keep your damn hands to yourself or I'm going to break your fingers off!"  

       The black-haired man chuckled. "But you really don't want that do you?" he leered at Hotaru while shoving her against the examining table.

       "What the hell are you doing?!" the girl inquired as she looked at the man. 'Oh shit... he isn't... no.' she thought as a feeling she thought never possible entered Hotaru's head. Fear. 

       Abruptly, she swung her hands up to punch the sneering guard, but he caught them before any damage could be done, pinning them above her head forcing Hotaru into almost a back bend on the table as he pressed his frame against hers.

       Struggling against his weight, the girl relentlessly tried to free herself, but it was no use. Hotaru was trapped. 'Crap. Now what?'                              

       Don't be so stubborn. After all, you're about to die in a few hours anyway." Eddan leered at the girl who spat in his face in revolt. Angrily the man slapped Hotaru across the face before he did something even worse, pressing his lips against hers.

       The dark-haired girl practically glued her eyes shut through the ordeal, in hopes that she would be able to keep her head as clear as possible, but sadly, the only thoughts that were available at this point were terror. Fortunately, as the guard decided to run his cold hands down her body, Hotaru snapped out of her stupor when she realized he was heading towards dangerous territory. 

       'That's it. This is ending now,' the teen determined as she mustered all the strength possible, slamming her head against his, stunning the guard, followed by a sharp knee to his crotch. Once Eddan was hunched over in pain, Hotaru clutched the edge of the table with her hands as she leaned her back on the top of it, bringing her knees to her chest and ending with a double push kick to the guard's stomach, knocking him to the floor.

       Before the violet-eyed girl even had a chance to move, Eddan was back on his feet and furious than ever. Callously he took the girl roughly by her hair and threw her to the ground. 

       Hotaru cringed as she landed hard on the floor, but did not make a sound. She would not give that asshole the satisfaction of knowing he really hurt her even when he began kicking her like a stubborn soccer ball. Luckily her arms covered her head, and she had already curled herself up tightly as possible, so damage was fairly minimal. 

       "What the hell?!" Prof T. shouted as he gaped in shock at the scene of the guard beating his captive.

       Eddan froze, and then quickly saluted. "She was trying escape and then put up a rather ruthless fight forcing me to teach her a lesson, Professor."

       "Very well then," the white-haired scientist nodded as he motioned for two of the guards standing behind him to pick the girl off of the ground.

       Hotaru didn't even attempt to struggle against the two men as they dragged her to her shaky feet and then up on the examining table, flat on her back. She didn't care nor did she possess the energy any longer to even attempt to fight them off. Coldly she stared at Eddan who was snickering at her. If looks could kill, he would have self-combusted at that moment. 'Might as well wait for my sentence. What does living matter anyway? I have nothing to begin with,' she miserably thought. 

       Suddenly, the professor seized her arm, with one hand as his held a syringe containing a glowing green liquid in the other. Things appeared especially glum at that moment to Hotaru. She knew her future did not look too bright.

       "You have disgraced me for the last time. Now you must meet your end Firefly." Professor T said as he signaled for the guards to hold the girl down. "I do have something special for you though. You shall die in the most excruciating pain possible as this virus disintegrates your body from the inside out." 

       Quickly, he wrapped an elastic band above her elbow and rubbed alcohol on her the crevice behind her elbow with a cotton ball. Hotaru flinched as the needle plunged into her skin, releasing the harmful virus into her blood stream.

       "In about twenty-four hours you should be nothing more than a stain on the floor. Enjoy your last pain free minutes. They will come to pass very soon. Oh, by the way, that virus is highly contagious so even if someone tries to rescue you, they'll meet the same cruel fate," he explained, motioning for the guards to release the girl from the confines of the shackles. He knew she would be losing strength at an alarming rate and that there was no way possible Hotaru could leave the premises on her own. "Farewell, you useless waste of my energy." 

       With those last words, Prof T and the guards left the room, locking Hotaru inside, who was still lying dazed on the table. "Shit!" she finally said, pounding her fist on the smooth piece of plywood and plastic. There was nothing she could do now. That virus was now in her blood stream ready to cause havoc on who knows what.

*~*~*~*

       The five teen boys were once again piled in the van, speeding down the highway, on their way to Station Red. They knew the plan quite thoroughly. Splitting up the group was not the best idea, but considering the fact that the prospect of finding Hotaru before it was too late, was the best they could come up with.

       Heero and Duo were to search the building since they remembered the general structure of its long hallways as well as possibly places in which the girl may be located at. Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei were to wait in the van as back up if needed while they continued trying to reach Lady Une and Sally Po. Once Hotaru was found, Heero was to contact Trowa by cell phone, reporting that they were on their way, or needed back up if the situation got too dangerous. It was a risky mission, because they had no clue how tight security would be guards would be, but that was not a concern at the moment.

       Unfortunately, the trip was going to take a few hours. Station Red was out in the middle of nowhere, which was particularly convenient for Iron Fist.        

*~*~*~*

       Frustrated, Hotaru began pacing back and forth trying to come up with a plan for escape. There were no windows, the ventilation system was too small to escape through, and the door was locked with a dead bolt. She could try taking the doorknob off, but with what? Not to mention there was still the deadbolt to deal with. The ceiling tiles were still much too high even when she stood on the table. "Damn them!" the teen said when suddenly she began staggering. 

       "Oh no. It can't be this quick acting.... Damn him!" the dark-haired girl moaned as soon she was filled with a surreal feeling, everything in front of her began dropping out of focus while a sensation of spinning took over the inside of her head. Carefully, Hotaru tried to sit, but instead collapsed to her hands and knees on the dirty linoleum floor. 

       Groaning, the girl felt her stomach begin to protest causing her to vomit on the ground. Thankfully it was not blood yet. She still had time left. The question was, how much?              

       "I can't believe I'm going to die like this... It's too much," Hotaru murmured, doubling over in blinding agony as a sharp pain penetrated her stomach. It was much worse than being shot or stabbed all together. It felt more like someone was trying to rip her open with their bare hands. Tears flooded her violet eyes as she felt the urge to vomit again. "Damn, that bastard."

*~*~*~*

      "Hn, odd, where are the security guards?" Heero muttered to himself as he jumped out of the van. The building appeared to be vacant. 

       Turning his blonde head, Quatre noticed the same thing. "You don't think we could be wrong, do you?"       

       The Perfect Soldier shook his head. 'She has to be here.' he thought, loading up his gun and glanced at Duo who also had a ready gun in hand. "Let's go."

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru somehow managed to avoid lying in all the vomit on the floor, curled up in the fetal position as she tried to will the pain away, but knew that wish would never come true. Instead, it was about to get worse. 'Please don't let anyone try to rescue me. They'll only die from the same ailment.' the violet-eyed girl groggily thought as she clenched her teeth tightly. Another wave began to hit, even worse than before. Hotaru wanted so badly to scream, but couldn't. Of course, considering the fact that everyone was probably miles away from the lab, no one would ever know. Still she still had to retain the small amount of dignity she had left. 'The hell with dignity,' the girl decided as she screamed bloody murder at the top of her lungs... or what was probably left of them. 

*~*~*~*

       Heero and Duo had only been walking through the east wing for less than a minute when a sound echoed through the empty corridors, startling the two teens. 

       "What the hell is that?! Sounds like someone is trying to shove a cat in the microwave," the chestnut brown-haired ex-pilot exclaimed as he exchanged glances with his partner. 

       Swiftly they took off racing down the hall hoping Hotaru would scream again. Whatever was being done to her, it sounded torturous. 

       Heero peered in every room near them, but so far, they were deserted "Damn it! Where is she?!" he grumbled as panic began to set in. 'She wasn't just...' he began to think as Duo yelled at him.

       "Hey! I think I see Hotaru in room 9!" the other teen announced as he tried to open the door. "Crap! It's locked! Oh wait, it's locked from the outside, hehehe." With that, Duo turned the dead bolt, unlocking the door.     

       However as soon as they pushed through it, the two ex-pilots were in for a shock of their life. 

       The room was filthy with what appeared to be vomit and blood on the floor. The most earth shattering was Hotaru, lying limp in the center of the room. They knew she took a beating during her abduction, but there was something else, something almost deadly.

       Heero and Duo continued to stare in horror as Hotaru managed to wince, blinking at the two boys while trying to sit up, numbly climbing to her knees. "He..Heero, Du..Duo... Y-ou shouldn't...be... here," the girl managed to choke out before retching on the floor. She looked like death reheated.

       "What the hell did they do to her?" Heero said to himself, unable to identify with his own voice as he watch Hotaru pick her head up, gazing up at them with tired tear-soaked eyes. There was something seriously wrong with the girl. 

       "Sorry," Hotaru simply said before collapsing to the ground as Heero caught her just before she fell in her own vomit, carrying her over to a dry section of the floor. 

       "What's wrong with her?" Duo quietly said, unable to believe what he was seeing. If hell came to earth then it found the right place. 

       The Perfect Soldier checked Hotaru's pulse discovering it was dropping as well as her respiration. Her pupils were constricted to where they no bigger than mere pin points. 'How the hell could she be this sick,' Heero thought, when his blue eyes fell to her arm. Turning it over, sure enough, there was dried blood. 'Damn it. They injected her with something.' he decided dropping Hotaru's arm back to the ground. Glancing up at his friend, Heero quietly said, "She's dying." 

*~*~*~*

       Trowa sat alert in the driver's seat listening intently for his cell phone to ring as he constantly glanced out of his review mirror, for any security guards. They still had the pleasant 'accused of murder' over their heads.

       The van was particularly quiet except for the sound of dial tone from Quatre and Wufei's phones. They were consistently redialing in hopes of finding either Sally Po or Lady Une. They had to still be alive. The Preventer's Headquarters appeared rather vacant before it was blown sky high. 

       "Hey, I got someone," The blonde Arabian announced with hope in his voice.

*~*~*~*

       "So what do we do?" Duo asked with a shaky voice. 'What kinds of people are we dealing with that would submit a human being to this?!' 

       Abruptly, Heero rose to his feet. "Stay here. I'm going after the antidote." 

       "Okay but hurry," the cobalt blue-eyed teen mumbled as he continued staring at the girl on the floor. 'Damn, if we get caught here, they could do the same exact thing to us and that looks so unfun.'

*~*~*~*

       Heero stalked the through the halls as stealth-like as possible. Someone knowledgeable about what was done to Hotaru had to still be here. If not, then it was going to be hell trying to find the damn antidote. 

       Suddenly a light appeared in one of the rooms across the hall. Ever so silently the Perfect Soldier crept up to the room, gun ready. 

       "Wait! Don't shoot! I'll tell you give you what you want, just don't kill me," a dark-haired scientist said as he raised his arms above his head. 

       Heero glared as he focused his eyes on the man. "Why should I believe you?"

       "You want the antidote to the virus, don't you? Allow me to give it to you. I wish I never joined this cursed federation. They're all completely insane and what Prof. T did to his kid was sick," the man said as he bent down to pick up a medical bag and began raffling through it.    

       The teen looked perplexed up at the man; gun still poisoned at the scientist's head. "What happened?"

       The man turned to look at the ex-pilot as he began writing something down. "Don't tell me you don't know. The girl doesn't have too long left. You did come for the antidote for Hotaru Tomoe correct?"

       Heero stared blankly at the brown-haired man as he nodded. "Yes but who is Prof. T's kid.... you don't mean Firefly?" 

       The scientist sighed deeply as he continued writing. "I'm afraid I do. Professor Tomoe was never the same after the lab accident several years back. He completely lost his mind and insists Hotaru was an orphan he found after causing the death of her family by deliberately setting up the explosion, claiming the life of his wife. Alas, he is Hotaru's father but because of the training regime she can't remember. I was the professor's assistant at that time. He was once a brilliant and kind man, but what ever occurred in that accident completed altered his personality to what you see today. A very sinister and psychotic mad scientist." 

       Heero had no idea what to say. That man just told him about a part of Hotaru's history which she can't even remember. It was just mind boggling that her father tried to kill her. 

       Carefully, the man handed the teen the medical bag and several syringes. "You will have to inject this directly into her blood stream or it will be too late. Don't forget to use the antidote on whoever has been exposed to her. Exposure is not as quick acting as injection, but both are fatal. Take care. The virus should be completely clear from her system within a few days," the scientist explained as he handed Heero the piece of paper he was writing on which the boy shoved in a pocket of his jeans. "This will tell you exactly what to expect as the antidote begins to clear out the virus. It'll be difficult, but you should all be able to survive. Good luck, Heero Yuy." the man finished as he pushed the boy out the door.

       "Wait. How did-" Heero tried to say but was cut off.

       "You have no time to lose! Run! And whatever you do, do not lose her!" the man said as the Perfect Soldier obliged to the order, running as fast as possible down the hall.

       'How did he know who I was?' Heero thought as he rounded the corner.

*~*~*~*

       Duo was starting to really panic. Hotaru was gradually getting worse. She was conscious for a short time. At least long enough to scream once again before vomiting on the floor. This time it was blood. From there she passed out once again and had not woken up since.  

       "Come on Heero. I don't think she has too much time left," the chestnut brown-haired teen mumbled to himself as he watched the motionless Hotaru, lying limp on the linoleum floor.

       "Mission accomplished," Heero stated as he rushed into the room with a medical bag in hand. 

       "Heero! You made it! You found the antidote right?!" Duo cried out with a relieved look on his face. He has seen enough death to last him a lifetime. 

       The Perfect Soldier nodded his head as he knelt down next to Hotaru's still form. "I just hope I'm not too late. How is she?" he said as he took out an elastic band and a syringe. 

       The braided-haired teen stumbled over his words as he spoke. They were really cutting it close. "I-I don't think Hotaru has much time left if any. She puked up a good amount of blood a few minutes ago before passing out."

       "Good she's unconscious. That'll make giving her the antidote a little easier." Heero quietly spoke wrapping the elastic band around one of the girl's arms. "Duo, hold this steady as well as her arm. I need to do this right or I could end up killing her instead."  

       Duo nodded as he held the band tightly, cringing as Heero plunged the needle into Hotaru's skin, releasing the antidote into her blood stream. Quickly, he bandaged the fresh wound before grabbing another syringe with a fresh needle in it. 

       "Duo, give me your arm," The Prussian blue-eyed teen instructed his friend who was gaping at the request. 

       "What?! Why?!"

       Heero sighed knowing they were losing valuable time. "I've been told the virus which Firefly was injected with is highly contagious. Now give me your arm or I'm going to leave you here."

       "But-"

       "Look do you want to end up like her, practically vomiting up your guts? Then give me your arm," Heero said bluntly as his patience was wearing. 

       With a sigh, Duo held out his arm as his friend wrapped the elastic band tightly around it before shooting the antidote into the ex-pilot who winced as the needle stabbed into his arm. "Ow! Oh, I hate needles," he whimpered as Heero handed him a bandage, which he eagerly put on to stop the bleeding.

       "All right. Your turn," the Perfect Soldier said as he rolled up his shirtsleeve.

       "Huh?" 

       Heero rolled his eyes. "Give me a shot. If I'm going to die it will be in battle or during a regular mission, not from a virus that could have been prevented. Do it now." 

       Hesitantly, Duo wrapped the elastic band around the teen's arm, and tried to estimate where exactly to insert the needle until Heero point it out with his other hand. 

       "Eh, why do I feel like we're a bunch of heroin addicts about now?" 

       "Hn." the dark blue-eyed ex-pilot with the messy dark hair grunted as Duo stabbed the needle into his skin, then released the vaccine into Heero's blood stream.

       "Done," Duo said as he cringed, pulling the needle out. 

       Heero bandaged his own bleeding arm and then carefully picked up Hotaru. "Duo, keep your gun in hand and take the medical bag. If we are caught, whatever you do, do not miss. Our main priority is getting Firefly out of here fast." 

       "Gotcha." Duo said with a nod of his head, flicking the safety off his gun with a satisfying click as Heero shifted the girl in his arms to call Trowa. 

       "We've found her. Expect us back in a few minutes at most," the teen calmly said to the boy waiting in the van outside.

       With a nod, the two teens left the room, heading out into the hallway as quickly as possible.  

       Surprisingly, they had no trouble at all returning to their awaiting friends. It was as if the building had been completely abandoned, which made sense considering Hotaru's virus was highly contagious. Unfortunately, she hasn't moved since Duo witnessed the poor girl retch up a good portion of blood. 

       "Heero you don't think we were too late?" Duo indicated about the dark-haired girl who appeared as if she were nothing more than a lifeless doll as they reached the van.

       The Perfect Soldier didn't want to think about it. It would have been a waste coming all this way to collect Hotaru's dead body. She had to still be alive otherwise this whole mission was pointless. He knew the girl was stronger than she appeared to be but who knows what she was subjected to or how much damage the virus had already caused.

       Quatre watched as Heero climbed into the van, Hotaru still in his arms and gently placed her on the floor. The blonde tried to peel his eyes away from the dark-haired girl, but her appearance was so brutal and corpse-like, it was hard to imagine what was done to her. "How is she?"

       "Asleep, but still her breath is as shallow as it was when we found her. We had to inject her with an antidote. Hopefully Firefly will pull through," the Prussian blue-eyed teen quietly said as Duo handed his friends the medical bag. "The virus is contagious so you better vaccinate yourselves as well." 

       The chestnut brown-haired ex-pilot nodded his head in agreement. "I'd listen to him. That is one nasty virus! I had to watch Hotaru suffer through a lot of it while Heero went after the antidote. You do not want that virus unless you enjoy vomiting up your guts."

       The other three teens nodded their heads, agreeing to use the antidote as well. From how Duo had just described what Hotaru had to endure, a shot seemed a lot friendlier.                         

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Eek that one scene was so hard to write, but it had to be done. (It's important for the next chapter) At least Hotaru got to kick that guy's bootie. ^_^

Thank you for your reviews. I really enjoy reading them. 

For those of you who have a problem with my story, I'm sorry you don't like it but I am not going to change what I have written. Relena is dead and that is that. I had to kill her off to give Iron Fist the control they needed to frame the Gundam Wing boys, thus Shattered Reality. She was the one symbol of peace and with "peace" dead, it gives more leeway to the antagonist of the story to try and take control. Please bear with me on everything I have and will write everything happens for a reason in my stories even if the reason doesn't appear until later. You can always think of this as an alternate reality if that still does not satisfy you. However if you still can't live with the way I have written my stories, then don't read them because I have no intentions to change what I have written. You cannot please them all and you cannot always get your way. Please remember that you are reading this of your own free will not to mention this is a story. Fanfiction on characters that do not exist. If these stories were real, then all the characters would be having severe identity crises right now. Take Heero for instance (the poor guy). So far I have read stories where he is fixed up with Relena, Duo, Wufei, Usagi, Hotaru, Lita, Ami, and Minako. Now either the guy is a big player, cheating on everyone, or he is a fictional character. I prefer the latter. ^_^

Sorry if I seem long winded but I felt I had to state this fact. My story has probably hit the controversial level right now but this is the way I envisioned this particular story. Believe me when I say I have a lot planned.  

I do have good news. Romance will be featured in the next chapter ^_^ It's a really touching moment that I have been working on for a while. 

Oh! And at the same time I'll have another story out featuring one of the other mentioned couples that were requested. A Duo/Hotaru fic ^_^    Oddly, the element of this fic is death. Go figure, I write dark, but there is a twist to this story as well. But it'll hit romance with a few minutes of reading. 


	10. Broken Melody

Shattered Reality Part 10

Broken Melody

by

Sailor Janus

       Due to the fact that Hotaru's deadly virus was highly contagious plus Duo's graphic detail of what he witnessed Hotaru suffer through, the other ex-pilots were more than eager to meet their destiny with the needle. Once that task was out of the way, the cobalt blue-eyed teen now had a very important question. 

       "So now that we have Hotaru back, now what? I mean there is no place safe we can actually go, not to mention we still have a very nice 'framed for murder' over our heads," Duo asked as he looked at each of his friends. 

       Quatre let out a small smile. "We already have that figured out. I was fortunate enough to contact Lady Une and she can provide us with a place to reside in." 

       "You mean Lady Une did not die in the explosion?" Heero inquired as he glanced up at the blonde who shook his head.

       "Remarkably, neither Sally Po nor Lady Une was in the building. They actually arrived a few minutes after we had left," Trowa quietly said as he started the van.  

       Duo thought for a moment. "Think she can explain to everyone that we are innocent?" he asked with a small amount of hope in his voice.

       "No. In fact, no one can know that she is helping us, or Lady Une and Sally may be accused of being a part of our so-called conspiracy as well," Wufei sternly said leaning against the window behind the driver's seat. 

       The ex-gundam pilots drove in silence the rest of the way. It was extremely late out or early depending on how you looked at it. In fact sunrise was due in another hour. 

       Quatre, Duo, and Wufei were each curled up in their respective seats, quietly sleeping even when Trowa had to stop for a cup coffee and gas. 

       Heero was sitting in the back next to the cobalt blue-eyed ex-pilot who was leaned up against the window peacefully resting. 

       Something was bothering the Perfect Soldier gravely but he could not decide what. Perhaps it was a mix of things. The fact that Iron Fist wants to eradicate them when the ex-pilots had not fought in a war in over two years not to mention, what kind of threat could they really be? The gundams had been detonated along with the other mobile suits. The other question is why Hotaru was also wanted dead? All they really needed to do is make another programming disk and then she'd once again be under their control. The last concern which was puzzling him greatly was how did that scientist know who he was and why the eagerness to help him? It seemed right away the man recognized Heero. Perhaps it was because his face was plastered on the news every five seconds but the thought continued nagging him. 

       Heero glanced back down to the girl lying near his feet. Since it was still very dark out, he could not tell if she had awakened yet or not. It was really disturbing how much Hotaru appeared as if she were dead. He did have to agree with the scientist though, it was really sick that her own father tried to kill her. 'I wonder if she knows that it was her father who attempted to execute her? No wait, the scientist said that Firefly does not remember because of the training and programming she went through,' the Prussian blue-eyed teen thought as he gazed out the window. 

*~*~*~*

       As it turned out, Lady Une was housesitting at a rather enormous mansion. There were at least twelve if not more bedrooms. It was three stories with six rooms on each of the top two floors, a large ballroom, library, kitchen, dining room, and common area on the ground floor. Each room was elaborately decorated in rich wine colors. 

       "Wow," Duo exclaimed as he glanced around the room struggling with both his and Heero's bags since the stoic ex-pilot was once again carrying Hotaru. 

       Quatre smiled, greeting Lady Une as she held the door open. "We are eternally grateful to you for helping us Miss Une."

       The woman nodded as the teens slowly filed in. Each appeared to be rather exhausted and would probably sleep the day away knowing that they were safe, at least for now. 

         Next was Wufei who appeared too tired to argue about being forced to bring one of Hotaru's bags. He just mumbled a small "Thanks," dragging his feet into the decorative home.

       Last was Heero with the still unconscious Hotaru in his arms and Trowa who had to lock up the van, toting his own bags and one of Hotaru's into the mansion from behind the Perfect Soldier with a very fragile looking girl lying limp in his arms. 

       The woman's jaw dropped as her eyes grew wide at the girl's raw appearance. Whatever those heartless people did to Hotaru, they wanted to make a point. It was not the cuts or dried blood that shocked Lady Une, but the girl's deathly pale appearance. She hated to say it but Hotaru's appearance was that of a corpse.         

       The boy holding the girl took one glance at Lady Une before he entered the mansion. 

       The green-eyed teen nodded his thanks as he followed, leaving the brunette woman to close the door behind them.   

       "You may all stay on the second floor and you can each have your own room. Please try to be as neat as possible," she announced understand that the only thing on the boys' minds right now was sleep. 

       With nods and mumbled 'Thank you's," all five of them climbed the stairs, Heero behind all of them, because he wanted to take the steps as slow as possible since he still had the dark-haired girl in his arms. Tripping over his feet as spent as he felt, would not do either of them any good.

       "Heero, let me give you hand," Lady Une said to wary teen who stiffly nodded as the woman followed him up the stairs, carrying the girl's belongings and the medical bag to one of the vacant rooms. 

       Quickly, the brown-haired woman put the three bags down and grabbed a blanket, placing it on the bed since Hotaru was still rather filthy from her fight. From there Heero landed her down carefully then stared at the girl as if almost in disbelief. 

       Lady Une tapped him on the shoulder, snapping him out of his stupor. "Why don't you get cleaned up and then try to get some sleep. We'll discuss the whole situation in the morning." 

       Silently the Perfect Soldier nodded as he took out a syringe from the medical bag. "The deadly virus they afflicted her with is contagious. You might want to inject yourself with the antidote."

       Taking the syringe, the woman nodded as the boy slowly left the room. 

*~*~*~*

       It wasn't until long after noon that the ex-pilots finally woke up, now feeling a little more refreshed than they were previously. Each teen decided that it would be best to take shifts in watching Hotaru incase she woke up or there were any bad reactions due to the virus. Surprisingly, Heero volunteered first.   

       The teen looked up from his magazine and studied the girl's face. It appeared her color was slowly returning which was a very good sign. Maybe he wasn't too late after. With a small nod, Heero continued the article he was reading.

*~*~*~*

       The rest of the group was downstairs having a conversation with Lady Une over tea and sandwiches in the large dining room. 

       "We still do not understand how you could have avoided the explosion. You usually are so punctual," Quatre said before taking a sip of his tea.

       Lady Une nodded listening carefully to the blonde's words. "Sally and I would have been in there if we hadn't received an urgent email followed by orders to make these," she explained, pulling out six fake IDs.

       The four boys stared curiously at them. "But who could have known?" Duo asked as he raised an eyebrow. 'Creepy.'

       "Hotaru," Trowa simply said. "She must have realized since Relena was murdered and we were framed with a death sentence over our heads, that the Preventer's Headquarters would be the next to fall."

       The Arabian frowned at his teacup. "But why didn't she tell us?"

       The Chinese ex-pilot shrugged. "She probably thought we'd blame her again. Hotaru seems to feel guilty enough for allowing Relena to be murdered."

       "Tell me again how Hotaru came to join you five?" the brunette-haired woman inquired as the four teens began to describe the events, which occurred during the last few days.

*~*~*~*

       _Hotaru found herself walking down a long white hallway, which seemed to smell like fresh paint. Oddly she was also a child, no older than six. _

_       Wildly the tiny dark-haired girl looked around the corridor in awe. She had never been in this part of the building but for some reason, just for today they couldn't enter through their normal wing. _

_       Suddenly out of the corner of her eye, Hotaru caught a glimpse of a small boy around her age, maybe older, being escorted into one of the various rooms. _

_       "Daddy? Who's that?" the small violet-eyed girl asked the tall man whose hand she was clutching._

_       The friendly white-haired man turned to his daughter and smiled. "Oh, that's no one, Firefly. Come on, or we'll be late." _

_       Curiously, the little girl continued glancing over her shoulder until they too, disappeared around the corner.  _

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru's entire body ached as she awoke. Her bones felt as if they were dunked in ice water and then slammed against a hard surface, wanting to shatter, but resisted. 

       Groaning softly, she opened her eyes, squinting from the bright sunshine beaming through the window next to the bed.  'Too bright,' the girl thought as she closed her eyes briefly before opening them again at the sound of someone's voice. 

       "You're awake," Heero spoke quietly as Hotaru's eyes darted around the room. Suddenly she sat up, clutching the blankets on her lap with a profound look to her pale face.

       The boy stayed seated in the chair across from the bed. "You are safe and will probably live as well."

       Blinking, the dark-haired girl stared intensely into Heero's dark blue eyes as if trying to read a hidden message but did not say a word. The ex-pilot couldn't decide whether she was going to escape the room or start screaming as her eyes began inspecting the room again. 

       'What is she thinking?' the Perfect Soldier thought as he watched the girl who began trembling as if she were drenched wet, walking into an air conditioned room. 

       At this time Lady Une along with the other four ex-pilots approached the room to check on the girl and her monitor. 

       The long haired woman smiled at the teenaged girl sitting up in the huge bed. "You must be Hotaru Tomoe. I am Lady Une. It's nice to see you are finally awake," she greeted the girl who replied only with a slight nod of her head. 

       Nervously, Hotaru glanced around the room, appearing panicked. This action, the boys found rather odd considering how calm and nonchalant the girl commonly is.

       The woman walked further into the room and picked up a large sweatshirt draped along the desk chair. Peculiarly, the violet-eyed girl jerked away from Lady Une who only came to give her a sweatshirt. In fact Hotaru slid to the opposite end of the bed, her eyes huge as she stared at the brunette. 

       "What is wrong with her?" Duo asked as he looked quizzically at his friends who shrugged in response.

       "Good question. She seems really paranoid. I haven't heard Firefly say a word since she woke up," Heero nodded his head watching Lady Une place the shirt on the bed as she backed away. 

       "Don't worry. No one else knows you're here. You are safe," the tall woman softly said hoping that Hotaru might calm down.

       "Did she lose the ability to talk?" Wufei suggested as Heero shook his head.

       Scratching his head the braided-haired American said, "We heard her speak before she passed out during our rescue attempt. Other than the fact she was struggling to talk before retching on the floor, her voice was fine."       

       "Give her time. She is already showing symptoms of the antidote battling the virus. Dilated pupils, chills, next will be irritability and abdominal cramps. It'll take a few days for the virus to completely clear out," the Prussian blue-eyed ex-pilot explained as they quietly left the room.

       However, no one knew that the antidote was actually as quick acting as the virus itself, even the scientist who presented it to Heero. 

*~*~*~*

       Trowa absentmindedly found himself looking at the side of Quatre's head as he sat opposite the blonde in the living room. Something did not look right. 

       The Arabian, of course took notice to this as he turned to his friend. "What?"

       "Quatre....it's you're head."

       The boy's blue-green eyes grew huge as he began to look frantic. "What?! Did the cut get worse?!"

       'That was it.' the green-eyed ex-pilot thought as he shook his head. "No, it's completely gone. You can't even tell it was gashed. There is not even a faint scar."

       The other three teens turned to the boy in question and glanced at his head. Sure enough, no scar. 

       "How did that happen?!" Duo exclaimed as he dropped his eyes to his own cut hand. 'Wait, where is my cut?'

       "Hn. Perhaps, the antidote heals damage done internally and externally," Heero brought up as his friends nodded in agreement.

       "Makes sense. Especially considering how much damage was done to Hotaru by the virus. That antidote would have to repair her body or else it would be useless," Wufei speculated as he brought his hand to his chin in thought.

       The Perfect Soldier suddenly stood up and began heading up the stairs as his friends stared in surprise.

       "Hey Heero! Where are you going?!" Duo called out to the departing teen.

       "To check on Firefly. Something seems off," he replied as the other ex-pilots exchanged glances.

       "Heero! Don't interrogate her anymore! She's been through enough as it is!" Quatre yelled to the boy who walked back down the stairs.

       With a quiet tone to his voice Heero nodded as he said, "I wasn't planning to interrogate Hotaru. She's innocent but shouldn't be reacting the way she is. Something else is wrong."

       "He's right. Hotaru is not the type to become that hysterical. Something must have happened, because she's not acting normal," Trowa quietly spoke as the other ex-pilots thought of each of the boys' words. 

       "You don't think they..." Duo began but couldn't bear to finish the rest of the sentence. It was even too horrible to say let alone think.     

       "Possibly," the Prussian blue-eyed teen muttered through gritted teeth. No one deserved to be treated like that. He was ready to kill those bastards with or without his gun. 

       The Arabian frowned as he gazed at the wooden floor. "Were they trying to completely destroy her? Isn't a deadly virus enough torture?"

       Wufei was equally disgusted. "It's completely sick. They desecrated her mind, body, and soul now."

       Heero clinched his fist as he retreated back up stairs.                      

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru was trembling immensely under the blanks thrown over her. Every bone her body ached but not nearly the same amount of pain she previously felt. The girl still found it difficult to focus long on anything not to mention her patience was wearing much thinner than usual. "Why couldn't they have just shot me in the head and finished it?" Hotaru muttered to herself. Just then, she discovered, she was no longer alone in the beautifully decorated room.

       "What do you want?" the violet-eyed girl asked coolly glaring at her visitor.

       Heero was a little thrown back by the girl's tone. Hotaru could be cold but that one simple question had enough venom in it to tranquilize a full-grown elephant. "To see if you were okay. Nice to see you can talk again."

       "Sorry I didn't have anything interesting to say. It's not everyday I am afflicted with a virus which slowly tears apart my body from the inside out," she spat back throwing a dirty look at the dark blue-eyed boy.

       At that moment, the other ex-pilots' curiosity had gotten the best of them as they too came upstairs to visit the healing girl. Unsurprising to Heero, she acted very callous to them as well. 

       "Great, the rest of Calvary is here. Now we can have a whole damn pity party for the sick little girl who would have been better off dead. Thank you for bringing me back to hell also known as life. I really appreciate it," Hotaru sneered to the four teens that appeared really uncomfortable.

       Frowning, the Prussian blue-eyed teen turned his attention back to infuriated girl who had daggers in her eyes. 'Why did she just say would have been better off dead? You are hiding something Firefly and it is eating you alive.'

       The dark-haired girl's rage increased until she couldn't contain it any longer. Grabbing a plastic cup off of the nightstand she threw it yelling, "Get out of here now!" Suddenly the girl doubled over in pain. Apparently throwing things is a very bad idea with the state Hotaru was in. "Shit!" she cried when the other teens exchanged glances and took a step closer resulting in Hotaru once again on the defensive. "Don't come near me and do not even think of touching me or so help me I'll kill you." 

       With silent nods, the five boys retreated leaving the girl once again alone in the large bedroom.

*~*~*~*

       Heero was growing frustrated. That clearly was not the same girl who tried to kill them a few days ago or even the same girl who helped them infiltrate Station Red. "What the hell happened to her?" he said crossing his arms over his green tank top. 

       "Whatever it was, it was bad. Just look at her. She wouldn't even let us walk in there! It's as if she thinks we'll do something to her," Quatre sighed as he leaned against the opposite wall to Hotaru's room in the hallway.

       Wufei nodded as he gazed down at the carpeted floor. "Ironic considering she was the one with the mission to execute us."

       "Hotaru's acting so hostile for no reason! We didn't do anything to her," Duo muttered as he leaned against the doorframe of the adjacent room.

       Trowa shook his head. "She has a reason. Hotaru's eyes show flashes of hatred and pure terror. She's generally speaking, scared out of her mind. It's probably a new feeling to her and she doesn't know how to deal with it. Something happened that we are unaware of and she is about to crack. The question is, how to find out what it was before she does something drastic?"

       The cobalt blue-eyed ex-pilot shook his head in disbelief. "No Hotaru..." 

       "Could," Heero interjected staring at the door to Hotaru's room. "She no longer has the drive to fight. She's surrendering." With that last word, Heero crossed the small hall to enter the room once again as his friends watched in utter amazement.

       "Why are you going back in there, Heero?" the braided ex-pilot asked as he raised his eyebrows.

       The boy gripped the doorknob tightly as he answered. 'To make sure Firefly doesn't do anything she'd regret." 

       The Arabian watched the teen enter the room and blinked as the door shut. "We shouldn't be too surprised. I just can't seem to make up my mind whether he wants to kill Hotaru or kiss her." 

       "Death threats and arsenal, the ingredients to true romance," Duo sarcastically commented with a smirk. 

*~*~*~*

       Just as Heero expected, he was greeted with a death glare to rival his own. Quietly he took a seat in the chair he previously occupied when Hotaru was still unconscious.       

       "When are you going to leave me alone?" the girl growled, crossing her arms as she sat up.

       "When you start giving answers."

       Hotaru rolled her eyes at the Perfect Soldier. "What type of answers?"

       Heero leaned forward, looking the into the girl's violet eyes. "What happened to you back there? What did they do to you, because we can tell there is something wrong and do not care to have a raving lunatic staying with us."

       The dark-haired girl narrowed her gaze. "One is probably enough, right, Mr. I'm Going To Kill You Empty Threat Boy?"

       "It wouldn't kill you to talk without insults or death threats yourself," he challenged back.

       Hotaru smirked slightly, "But that would take away all the fun of wallowing in my damn self-pity."

       Heero crossed his arms growing increasingly annoyed with the girl by the minute. 'Why the hell is she being so damn difficult?' he thought leaning forward even more, as he stared at Hotaru's face. "Talk."

       Hotaru however was not planning on budging anytime soon. "Go. To. Hell."

       "From the sound of it, you have already been there," the Perfect Soldier stated as the girl clenched her jaw glaring. "Hotaru."

       The girl began breathing deeply as her anger was about to hit the roof. "Get. Out. Now." she ordered through gritted teeth.

       Heero nodded as he stood up. This wasn't over. Not by far. Quietly he left the room, not removing his gaze from Hotaru's as she sternly pointed towards the door. 

*~*~*~*       

       "How did it go?" Quatre asked dark blue-eyed boy from the coffee table where the four teens were in the middle of a card game. Lady Une had left a few minutes ago to take care of a few things involving the Preventers and told the boys she'd be back in a few hours.

       Heero slumped down on the couch with a tiresome look on his face. "She's as stubborn as hell."      

*~*~*~*

       "Damn it! Why won't they just leave me alone?" Hotaru grumbled as she eased herself out of the bed. There had to be something useful in the room. 'It would have been so much easier if they would have just let me die. Damn them! Now I am eternally in hell because of...' Hotaru thought as she slowly walked towards the desk but couldn't finish her thought. It was bad enough having to relive it over and over again. 

       Rummaging through the desk she found a letter opener. 'Perfect,' the girl thought stumbling back to the bed and sat on the floor, leaning her back against it.

       Hotaru had at least managed to get herself cleaned up some since the first visit. Her hair no longer smelled like vomit nor did her skin. She also managed to change clothes as well consisting of black nylon sweat pants with a comfortable long sleeved blue t-shirt. Hotaru was not one to exactly stay in bed allowing herself to fully recover. The only reason she stayed in the bed at all was because half the time she was freezing cold. 

       Curiously, the violet-eyed girl studied the ornate silver letter opener in her small hand. Finely polished and immaculate with not a stain on its shiny surface. Briefly Hotaru smiled. "How terrible it would be for this lovely item to become stained with my own blood," she whispered, softly running the blade across the skin of her wrist. "Two quick slashes and all the pain and constant mocking will at last, end."

       Suddenly the door swung open, revealing Heero staring in shock at the shiny object in Hotaru's hand. "What the hell are you doing?! Give me that!" he shouted racing into the room and snatched the letter opener from girl's grasp before she could even react.

       "Give it back!" the dark haired girl growled at the boy standing over her.

       The Perfect Soldier just gazed down at her. He knew this was going to happen. "Do you have a death wish or something?" 

       "As a matter of fact, yes I do. There is no point in living anymore. My purpose is gone and I've been betrayed, and hurt enough to the point where that single letter opener is my only escape," Hotaru forcefully spoke, as her eyes remained focused on the item in Heero's hand.

       Heero blinked at the girl sitting on the floor. "That is not a good enough reason to kill yourself."       

       Hotaru brought her knees up to her chest and leaned over them with her arms. "Seems like a good enough reason to me," she softly whispered.

       The teenaged boy was growing agitated over the fact that girl seemed to be dancing over the motivation for her suicide. It was more than obvious that Hotaru didn't want to share the information and this unfortunate fact was about to be her undoing. "I've been in some serious shit too and you don't see me trying to kill myself."

       Hotaru smirked at Heero, as if she knew a secret that he was unaware of. "You used to try. Admit it. You tried. That's the thing about where we all stand, all six of us. Life is just another mission."

       'Damn, she got me there, but I'm not giving up yet.' the Prussian blue-eyed ex-pilot thought as he nodded his head. "Fine. I'll admit it. I did try. However that was when I was alone and believed that my only purpose in this screwed up world was to complete my missions, but then I found out there were other people like me. People that would give their lives to save my own." 

             The girl rolled her eyes and was about to speak but Heero abruptly cut her off.

       "Before you deny having that, all five of us risked our lives to save yours, so try thinking about that before slitting your wrists," the ex-pilot said has he gave back the letter opener to the dark-haired girl and turned to leave the room. 

       Hotaru stared blankly at the beautiful and expensive object in her hand then back to the departing teenaged boy. Closing her eyes, she slammed the letter opener down on the nightstand to her far right before easing back down against the bed. "Damn you," the girl muttered softly before speaking up to catch Heero's attention before he could shut the door. "I really don't want to die," Hotaru called out resulting in the ex-pilot pausing at the door, still with his back turned towards her. "I just want everything to stop. The memories of that day. The fear. The pain. I want it to stop now."

       Heero spun around and faced the girl. 'Is she finally going to come out with it?' he thought turning his full attention to the dark-haired girl who appeared to finally be breaking.

       Swallowing, Hotaru dropped her eyes to the floor. "It's haunting me constantly. Playing over and over again in my head but I can't make it stop!" the violet-eyed girl stated pulling her head up frowning as she continued on. "I still see that guard's sneering face as he pushed me against that damn table. I feel his hot breath on my face, his mouth forced against mine, cold hands slithering down my body as I protest every inch of the way, but I can't scream."

       The Perfect Soldier didn't know what to say. What could he say? Hotaru had basically been violated and there was nothing anyone could do to correct it. The fact that Iron Fist could always find her again was probably making the situation much worse, explaining her desire to die. 

       The girl slowly dropped her head again whispering, "Make it stop. Please, just make it stop."

       Heero stared at Hotaru, feeling his heart practically break. He had no idea why he felt like he did. Everything was so confusing and unidentifiable. Regardless, the teen calmly walked over to the upset girl and sat down next to her.  Carefully, he brushed her dark hair, shrouding her pale face, away. 

       Shocked, Hotaru jerked her head up and stared into Heero's dark sapphire blue eyes as he looks back into her violet ones, watching as tears began flooding them.  Slowly, the girl shut her eyes, trying to retain the drops of salt water from falling out of then as she drops her head once again. 

       Not even realizing it, the ex-pilot wrapped an arm around her back, which surprisingly, Hotaru didn't even attempt to shake off screaming "Get your hands off of me!" like he expected. She just sat there virtually frozen before encircling her own thin arms around herself, tucking her chin in as her head fell lower. 

       Slowly, Heero slid closer to Hotaru, still stunned that she hadn't moved, but unaware that he too, was acting quite unusual for himself. 'Damn, they really did destroy her,' the Perfect Soldier thought as he cautiously pulled the girl closer to him, which resulted in her numbly leaning against him without a single word of protest, practically falling on the boy as he pulled her across his lap, her back facing his chest. Gently Heero smoothed Hotaru's dark locks from her face before wrapping his other arm around her as well. 

       Gradually the tense in Hotaru's body began to fade, as she relaxed feeling uncommonly safe. The two teens sat quietly for a while and tried to think about nothing as they listened the rain begin to pitter-patter against the windowpane outside. 

       Protectively, Heero leaned his head over Hotaru's, resting his chin softly on top of her head. Pleasantly, her dark hair smelled like fresh lavender. 

       At this moment, the girl decided to break the calm silence. "Heero, thank you," she quietly murmured. 

       "For what?"

       "Staying with me, " she simply stated not even thinking of budging from her position. 

       The ex-pilot nodded as he said. "You're welcome, Firefly." Suddenly thoughts began to enter his head, plaguing his mind. 'Why am I doing this? Holding her? Protecting her? Why is she even letting me? Hotaru could have shrugged me off but didn't. What am I doing?'

       The recovering girl was under the same mental turmoil. 'Why is he being so kind to me and why am I letting him? Normally, I'd glare and shove a guy away for trying to get this close, but why not Heero? Why is he clutching onto me like I was precious and fragile as crystal? Like if he let me go, I'd disappear forever. Why do I feel so safe in his arms when I can clearly defend myself? What is going on?'

       Slowly, the violet-eyed girl shifted her position so she could easily look up at the Perfect Soldier as she removed her arms from around herself. The two gazed into each other's eyes, dark blue meeting deep violet once again. Suddenly, without even thinking, Heero bowed his head down to Hotaru's as they both closed their eyes, uniting their lips in soft kiss. 

       Quickly Heero and Hotaru pulled away, astonished at what they just did. After staring into each other's eyes once again. Both teens closed their eyes again, joining their lips together in a much deeper kiss than the previous. Hotaru found herself reaching up and placing her hands around Heero's neck, stroking his dark brown hair back with one hand as the kiss intensified. Not even realizing it, Heero pulled the girl closer to him, narrowing the space between them, the kiss lingering on. 

       Finding themselves, running out of breath, they pulled away, but not completely. Instead the Prussian blue-eyed teen enveloped the girl in a tight, supportive embrace, which she gratefully accepted. 

       No words were exchanged. They were not needed as emotions once believed as nonexistent came to life controlling the thoughts and movements of the two teenagers who once swore they were dead inside.                   

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Can I make a moment or not? ^_^  This has got to be my favorite chapter to write, I have like almost every single emotion going. 

I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews, I love reading them and will admit I was worried about what everyone would think about the last chapter b/c it turned out a little more graphic than I expected although I did tone it down a bit. There was more going on but I changed. 

Be ready for more twists and turns in the upcoming chapters!

Oh by the way, The Hotaru/Duo fic is now out. It's titled, Dual Fates. It's my first death/romance fic. There is a twist to this story as well however. Not everything is, as it seems. 


	11. Startling Revelation

Shattered Reality Part 11

Startling Revelation

by

Sailor Janus

       A few hours later, the other ex-pilots climbed up the stairs and down the hallway to Hotaru's room, after realizing that their stoic yet deadly friend never returned from his last visit. Hopefully the two didn't end up killing each other. 

       Quietly, Quatre opened the door as the others peered in over his shoulder after the blonde had let out a gasp, turning a bright shade of red.

       "Did they kill each other, or fall asleep? Neither are moving," Wufei speculated as he raised an eyebrow. The two teens were now lying down on the carpeted floor, Heero's arms still wrapped around Hotaru's waist, both peacefully sleeping.   

       Trowa glanced in the room, and smiled lightly. "We shouldn't be so surprised."

       Duo rubbed his eyes as he continued to gawk in awe. "I never could imagine those two actually being sweet! It's like some bizarre parallel universe!"

       The blonde nodded his head as he shut the door slightly to the point where they could still look through the crack. The four ex-pilots were curious as far as what was going on and who could blame them? "You have to admit, they do look cute together."      

*~*~*~*

       Slowly, Hotaru opened her eyes, seeming a little puzzled as far as why she was lying on the floor and the fact that something heavy was part way draped over her. Turning her head, the dark-haired girl was shocked to find it was Heero's weight she was feeling, and the fact that their limbs were practically entwined, with her arms wrapped around his, was even more intriguing. 

       Suddenly, everything that occurred last night came rushing back in full force. Hotaru remembered what had happened but why it did was an even bigger mystery. She had to admit, Heero looked incredibly cute sleeping. He was lying on his side with his arms wrapped around her waist, partway leaning on her back, which was turned towards him as his dark hair fell into his closed eyes. 'When did we end up lying on the floor?'

       The violet-eyed girl didn't mind of course. It was an entirely new situation for her. The question was, what is going to happen when Heero wakes up? The possibilities were almost endless. Everything thing from grabbing his gun and blowing her brains out, to a look of shock and perhaps acceptance, to even a good morning kiss. Of course she doubted the latter. This was the Perfect Soldier, Heero Yuy after all, although something did change between the two of them.

       Hotaru continued watching the ex-pilot sleep. It almost seemed comforting in an odd way. Sleep was the only time that a person no matter who they were could appear totally at peace. 

       At this moment, Heero began to stir. Right away, he could tell there was something different. 'What are my arms wrapped around?' the Perfect Soldier thought as he opened his eyes and suddenly blinked repeatedly, stunned that the face he was now staring into was none other than Hotaru Tomoe's. But how? And why? 

       Neither teen moved and just looked at each other. Finally, the Prussian blue-eyed boy recalled the events of the previous evening as well.

       Swallowing hard Heero asked, "Are you okay?" The last thing he wanted right now was for Hotaru to attempt suicide again especially after everything that had happened between the two of them but then again, what exactly did take place? Luckily, she appeared to being on the verge of a full recovery so hopefully the worst was over.

       Lightly, the dark-haired girl nodded her head in response as she carefully, rolled to her back, still, examining Heero's face. Oddly, he did not let go, only shifting the position his arms were in.  "The pain is still there much it's not on my mind as much anymore."

       The teenaged boy nodded his head. "Good." 

       "Heero, what happened between the two of us?" Hotaru finally asked, knowing the question was plaguing both of their minds.

       "I don't know. This feeling is foreign. I didn't even think it could possibly exist," he admitted gazing deeply into Hotaru's violet eyes.

       The girl briefly closed her eyes as she spoke. "I agree. All I ever knew was what my missions consisted of fighting, killing, and trying to stay alive. Everything else was pretty much erased." Hotaru paused briefly, as she looked into the boy's dark blue eyes, daring to reach out and brush a lock away from his face. "So now what?"

       Heero contemplated the question for a brief minute as the dark-haired girl looked on, expecting an answer. Slowly, he brought his head to Hotaru's, lightly kissing her forehead surprising both teens. Carefully, the ex-pilot sat up, gently bringing the girl up with him. "Just go about things normal and don't worry about the others. I'll kill them if they say anything." 

       Tenderly, Heero lifted Hotaru's chin and brought his mouth to hers and they both closed their eyes. The girl reached her hand up to his face, lightly caressing it as the kiss deepened before a loud bang interrupted them.  

       Turning towards the door, the two teens found their friends in practically a dog pile on the floor with Trowa the only one actually standing. However each of the four boys were equally red in the face at the fact that they were caught. 

       "Maxwell, get off me!" Wufei grumbled to the braided-haired teen that was sprawled across the Chinese teen. 

       "Eh, sorry!" Duo chirped, clumsily stumbling to his feet before he nervously scratched his head. Trying to avoid the eyes of the two teenagers sitting on the floor.

       Hotaru and Heero blinked at the intruders, appearing very annoyed. "Then be ready for four dead friends," the girl dryly said.

       "What do you want?" the stoic ex-pilot asked sounding very perturbed. 

       The four pilots exchanged glances, grimacing at each other as Wufei and Quatre scrambled off of the floor. 

       "Uh, tea?" the blonde grinned as Trowa and the Chinese teen slapped their hands to their faces in disbelief at the boy's ridiculous response as Duo eagerly nodded his head.              

       What happened next left the snoopers even more shocked than witnessing the kiss. Hotaru and Heero each began snickering at the stupidity of the four teens each with smiles on their faces.

       The four ex-pilots gaped at them, bewildered over the newest action before the cobalt blue-eyed teen asked, "Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Heero Yuy and Hotaru Tomoe?!"

       "Think they're sick?" Wufei whispered to Trowa who shrugged.

       Hotaru rolled her eyes as she pointed towards the door. "Can you four please go now? And knock next time!"

       "Eh, sorry, Hotaru. We just wanted to make sure you two didn't kill each other or anything," Quatre rambled as he followed his friends who were giving out their own apologies, out the door. 

       "I can't believe they were kissing!" Duo shouted through the closed door. "That is so surreal!"

       "Um, Duo.... they can still hear you," the green-eyed teen pointed out as his long haired friend flushed. 

       "Oops." Duo said as he followed the others down the stairs.

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru blinked at the door where the ex-pilots once stood. "At least we don't have to worry about them making a big deal. Should have realized they'd be suspicious about your disappearance."

       Heero nodded his head. "We didn't exactly get along the moment we met."

       The girl giggled. "Death threats and endless glares. I kind of don't blame them for spying." 

       Neither Hotaru nor Heero understood why they felt so calm around each other. It almost seemed like they were connected somehow. The experience was new and slightly frightening, yet irresistible. Did they always feel this why and were hiding it with animosity or did it just happen that night? Whatever it was, it seemed almost magical.

       "We should probably try to figure out what Iron Fist is up to and how to prevent them from succeeding," the Perfect Soldier softly said as they both leaned against the bed, staring at the closed door.

       Hotaru nodded her head. "We may have missed something the first time we searched through the information. I still have my disk what about you?"

       "It's with my laptop. Get changed and we'll go back through it again. I have a feeling that was not the last we are going to see of Iron Fist," the ex-pilot reluctantly admitted. He knew Hotaru was still very edgy when it came to the people who tried to execute her. 

       The dark-haired girl nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, they are very likely to be hunting all of us down right now," she quietly said closing her eyes. 'Damn them.'

       Heero, brushed his mouth against Hotaru's before whispering in her ear, "I'm not going to let them touch you again. Got it?"  

       Hotaru looked into the boy's blue eyes as she nodded. "Got it. Just give me a little time to try to erase that day from my memory."

       The Prussian blue-eyed teen slowly stood up. "Meet us in the living room. We need to crack this mystery before the situation worsens."

       The violet-eyed girl whispered, "I will," as she watched Heero leave the room, softly closing the door behind him.

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru walked down the stairs, laptop and disk in hand, feeling refreshened and calm. She was back in her normal clothing consisting of a lavender tank top, dark blue jeans and her black boots. The leather pants, even though they looked really cool, felt too sticky, especially if she sweated. 

       As soon as she turned the corner into the living room, the four ex-pilots, who still appeared to be very embarrassed over their previous meeting, promptly greeted the violet-eyed girl. 

       Hotaru tried her hardest to hide her smirk as she sat on the carpet, opposite Heero, who glanced briefly at her in polite recognition before returning his attention back to the computer. 

       Stealthily, she flipped open the compact computer and booted it up. Soon Iron Fist's logo was plastered to the screen, which signaled the beginning to her seemingly endless typing, searching every singles file, until she hit her own. Oddly Heero appeared to have reached the file at the same moment. The other teens, with copies of Perfect Soldier's disk, came to the file containing a very unpleasant recount of Hotaru's track record soon after.

       "You assassinated the Prime Ministers from Russia, India, and Denmark?" he asked, which a slightly surprised tone to his voice. 

       Quietly, Hotaru nodded her head as Heero glanced up at her. Everyone else in the room, which was searching though their own computers, froze at the same time, each finding something equally intriguing.

       Quatre blinked at the screen in front of him. "Wait, didn't President Jefferson of America die of a natural causes? A heart attack if I remember correctly, but why would his death be recorded here?"

       The girl dropped her head, almost ashamed of her past. "Yes, after I slipped him something in his coffee which resulted in his already poor heart condition dramatically decreasing.  

       "And the plane crash claiming the lives of the world leaders of Great Britain, Spain, France, and Italy?" Trowa said raising an eyebrow.

       "Technical tampering," Hotaru simply answered. 'Did they have to chronicle everything thing I did?!' she thought, clenching her jaw.

       Duo stared in horror at his computer screen. "The assassination of the pacifists leaders of the colonies?! Wow do you have a history!" 

       "The world leaders of Australia, Mexico, and Germany. And yet, there is probably more." Wufei said as he glanced up at the girl who was frowning immensely.

       Hotaru pushed her laptop back as she prepared to defend herself. "Those are missions that I am not proud of and vaguely remember only after Prof. T had reported back to me what I had accomplished. I had no control whatsoever and.... oh shit."        

       "What?" the Perfect Soldier inquired as he glanced up at the girl who had a very frantic look on her face. 

       "Damn it! Why didn't I realize this sooner!" the dark-haired girl shouted, abruptly standing up. "They were all pacifist leaders, every single one of them yet those murders occurred..... They've been plotting this since after Oz split-up and the White Fang incident back in AC 195," she finally said spinning around to face the five ex-pilots who gaped at the response.

       "I think you're on to something Hotaru," Trowa agreed. It made perfect sense. Every single pacifist leader was practically dead now giving Iron Fist the upper hand. Only Relena Peacecraft had stood in the way but she too met the same gruesome fate as the others.                       

       "We know they are planning world domination but what's next on their agenda?" Quatre said, crossing his arms. 

       The cobalt blue-eyed teen frowned. "Well, they probably still have 'Kill the ex-gundam pilots and Hotaru at the very top of the list."        

       Hotaru sat back down, and began typing rapidly on her keyboard. "It's imperative that something has already been planned. Specifically since they have planned everything since the fall of Oz. The question is what?" 

       "They never told you about the missions or operations?" The Chinese teen asked the girl who shook her head.

       "No, of course I never possessed control since the whole program and training regime was altered. I don't know why I know this, but Prof. T did not originally instruct me. There was someone else," Hotaru answered, her violet eyes, practically glued to the screen. "What the hell?" she gasped, staring at the in terror. 

       "What's wrong?" Heero asked as he as well as the others got up to inspect the girl's computer screen. 

       Frantically the girl continued typing as she shook her head in disbelief. "I have located plans for something called a Daimon, but it does not give specifics on its purpose. I will say that because it seems to be very vague, it can not be anything good."

       "Are you sure Hotaru? I mean, maybe it's something else," Duo said with a shaky tone to his voice. He hated it when things began turning out worse than they seem.

       The Prussian blue-eyed teen shook his head. "No. Hotaru is right. Because the plans are top secret, they cannot be good." Sure enough, soon the girl confirmed their suspicions, adding onto the list of fears.

       "Oh shit. We've got a positive on the 'cannot be good' and could probably advance it's status to 'your worse nightmare' come true."  Hotaru flatly said as she briefly closed her eyes. "Damn it, I don't believe this! Those bastards! Oh damn it, we are in so much shit right now."

       "Okay, Hotaru is cussing more than usual and acting very pessimistic. This has to be bad," the chestnut brown-haired ex-pilot said as the other ex-pilots glanced at the girl awaiting her verdict. 

       The circus performer blinked at the girl knowing she was not overreacting. "How bad is it?"

       Hotaru sighed deeply as she leaned against the table. "On a scale from one to ten? One being they're forcing everyone to wear pink tutus and ten being a hell of a lot worse? I'd give it a twenty or even a forty at this point." Taking a deep breath the girl explained everything, confirming the fact that she was not overreacting by far. "The Daimon is an extremely powerful mobile doll created from Gundamium. It is incredibly light yet very deadly. The components include tracers on anything made of metal, as well as a stealth mode, much like how Duo can scramble tracking devices to take his enemies by surprise, and enough ammunition to supply a small army. The fact that you guys do not have your gundams not to mention are wanted for the murder of Relena, makes everything twice as hard."

       "Shit! They have totally screwed us over! Now what are we going to do?! We can't fight and the fact that it's a mobile doll makes everything even more complicated because you can't kick the damn computer out of the cock pit!" Duo shouted, going into a rage.

       "Calm down Duo!" the Arabian said to his friend before turning to Hotaru. "How could they have possibly made such a mobile doll though?! Where could they have built them without someone knowing?"

       Wufei scowled as he crossed his arms. "The same way their stupid headquarters existed and Hotaru went on a murder spree as their little puppet. They found a way."

       "Are you certain they are Mobile Dolls, Hotaru? Is there anything more we need to know about them?" Heero inquired of the girl whose fingers began dancing on the keyboard again.

       Shaking her head Hotaru answered, "No, they are all mobile dolls with a brand new state-of-the-art programming much different compared to the ones from AC 195." The girl quickly froze, frowning at her computer screen. "Hmm. There is mention of a Perfect Mobile Doll but there is no information pertaining to what it means by the term. Perhaps it was just a prototype."        

       Suddenly the glass windows of the large mansion began exploding, sending shards of shattered glass raining down upon the six teenagers, startling them half to death as gunfire rang through the air. 

       "EVERYONE DOWN!" 

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Wow, this took longer write than I thought. This is what happens when you party one weekend and then move the following one ^_^;;

Anyway I love the reviews! I am so glad you guys like how I did the romance part ^_^ I just read it over and over again hoping it sounded right. That has to be my all time favorite chapter to write! 

Now it's time to twist everything once again. You'll start recognizing a certain theme here soon but I won't give it away because it's important for the future of the story. 

Um, expect the next chapter out sometime next week. It'll be a goody I believe unless I get a revelation again. 

And the mirror shall crack even more....


	12. Risky Confrontation

Shattered Reality Part 12

Risky Confrontation

by

Sailor Janus

       The six teenager's dread filled thoughts on the prospect of the existence of mobile dolls while they no longer had their Gundams was suddenly interrupted as the chilling sounds of gun fire and shattering glass filled the room. 

       "EVERYONE DOWN!" Hotaru shouted, diving over the table to shove Heero away from an approaching bullet's path. Harshly, she landed on top of the teenaged boy, shoving him backwards. "Sorry."

       The Perfect Soldier blankly looked at the violet-eyed girl who had practically thrown herself on top of him as glass and bullets flew across the room. 'Did she just risk her life for me?! Why?!' he thought watching Hotaru ease herself off him. 

       The other pilots threw themselves to the floor, trying earnestly to shelter their own bodies as well. 

       "This is a wild shot, but I think they found us!" Duo mumbled as he covered his head as the window behind him burst into a million pieces. 

       "Now what?!" Wufei asked loudly, trying to be heard over the noise. None of them were really in the mood to either die or be arrested that day. 

       Quatre winced as a porcelain vase broke next to him. "Finding a way out of here would probably be a very good idea."

       "Yes, but where and how? Whoever is shooting at us does not seem to be willing to let up anytime soon," Trowa shook his head as he glanced up at his friends. 

       'Damn it. This is all my fault! If only... no, I can't start thinking like that again. Guilt will not consume me.' The dark-haired girl thought as she tried to strategize a plan.       

       "They will run out of bullets soon and once that happens, they'll try breaking through the door to get in. Our only chance as cowardly as it may sound, is hiding." Heero said in his perfect monotone voice. Everyone knew the stoic ex-pilot was correct, especially since neither of the six teens had access to their weapons. 

       All of a sudden, the gunfire ceased as the door was swiftly kicked in.

       "Oh shit! Cancel that plan because here they come!" the cobalt blue-eyed teen grimaced as Heero's prediction was sadly confirmed by several armed men charged into the mansion. 

       Hotaru quickly got to her knees and grabbed the nearest object to her. A coffee mug which miraculously, was not broken. The plan was to throw the mug, and then race upstairs where all her weapons were awaiting her. Unfortunately, after catching sight of the first man, she froze, dropping the ceramic mug to the floor which shattered on impact as she stared at the man.        

       Eddan chuckled, walking closer to the petrified girl. "So we meet again darling princess. Don't even think I haven't forgotten about our little encounter. In fact, I plan on completing it." 

       Heero spun around, stunned to find the deadly girl, actually displaying signs of fear once again. Sadly, that thought was ended as well, once a new realization hit. They were now surrounded. The intruders had the teens round up in a nice little circle with various weapons in their hands. The odds appeared very bad. 

       "Um, any clue on how to stay alive?" Duo said in a shaky voice as he sat up, balancing himself on the balls of his feet in a very unstable kneeling stance.

       The blonde shook his head in remorse. They were trapped and defenseless. Sure the teens could try fighting their way out, but considering the massive size of the Iron Fist hulks that were sneering at them, those chances appeared very slim.

       Wufei and Trowa also straightened up, climbing up to their knees so that they too could have a better advantage if attacked. Unfortunately, both of the silent ex-pilots were fresh out of ideas as well.                                                  

       At that moment, Hotaru finally lost it. Everything, which had occurred in the past few days, had successfully taken its toll. Before the Prussian blue-eyed ex-pilot even had time to grab her wrist to prevent the girl from taking a very reckless action, she struck.

       Sprinting, with a high level of speed, Hotaru approached the man who had violated her the other day and swung a punch square into the hated man's nose. Unfortunately, instead of breaking Eddan's nose, he grabbed the offending hand, and twisted it painfully behind her back. 

       "I am going to kill you," she growled with venom dripping off of every word. "You shall suffer just as I did. Your dignity stripped away as if it were nothing more but a fallen eyelash. You shall pay."

       "Not, if I kill you first," the black-haired Iron Fist guard coolly said, spinning the girl around so her back was facing him. Roughly, he forced Hotaru against a wall. 

       "Leave her alone you asshole!" Heero said through gritted teeth as he tried to move forward, but was instead slammed in the head by the butt of one of the guard's rifles. Two other guards held him down as the Perfect Soldier struggled to fight them off, but it was no use. There were just too many of them. 

       Hotaru stiffened her body as Eddan held her tightly against the wall. Foolishly however, the girl was pinned with only one arm. She had to be swift or her plan would be futile not to mention the idea of being raped and probably slaughtered in front of her friends was not her idea of a good time.               

       Carefully, the violet-eyed girl wrapped her left arm around her stomach to the point where she could reach the right pocket of her jeans as she sickeningly felt the man grope her. 'Okay, that's enough. Now we end this,' she thought as her fingertips grazed the smooth surface of the pocketknife. Quickly, she grasped the item, pulling it out, and clutched it in her hand as she flicked it open. 

       Just as Eddan, attempted to reach under her shirt, she stomped on his foot, before spinning around, and stabbing the ignorant bastard deeply in the chest as everyone in room looked on in horror. 

       "Eddan, darling, when are you going to learn you cannot treat me like your personal lust object? You are the lowest life form to exist," Hotaru harshly stated, pulling out the bloodstain knife as she glared down at the guard who was struggling to stay alive. "You should have remembered how deadly I am. Now that incomprehension shall be your undoing," the girl whispered with an evil glint in her eye.

       The man gargled as he slid down the wall. With his own liquid of life slowly draining from his body. "You'll pay, bitch." 

       "Funny, because I sort of doubt that. I guess we all bleed red. Even vile scum such as you," Hotaru dryly said as she turned away. 

       "Hotaru! Behind you!" Quatre shouted as his aquamarine eyes grew huge in disbelief.

       Suddenly Eddan was on his feet, with a knife from his back pocket in hand and grabbed the dark-haired girl around her waist from behind, placing the blade against her throat before she even had time to react. "Let's test your theory."

       The girl gasped in shock but only for a brief moment before slamming the back of her head into the man's chest, removing the stainless steel blade from her throat. This action resulted in the release of Eddan's grip due to her head smacking painfully into his wound. 

       Just then a gun went off, as Hotaru instinctively, dropped herself to the floor allowing the bullet to pierce through Eddan's heart, instantly killing him. 

       The violet-eyed girl finally caught sight of the six ex-pilots. All of which were placed in handcuffs, kneeling on the floor. They were also unable to fight back because of the fact that they were completely surrounded by gun toting guards, ready to shoot them if they even attempted to escape. 'Shit. Now what?' she contemplated, as she caught Heero's eye. 

       "Firefly. You better surrender, or we'll execute these six one by one," a redheaded man sneered as the girl sitting on the floor glanced up at him.         

       Hotaru took a deep breath, realizing that Iron Fist had just gained the upper hand. 'Why the hell didn't they fight back? Of course they were probably distracted by my performance with that jerk. Damn it. I did it again.' she thought as her frustration increased. She had to be as crafty as possible right now. Finally, she had a plan.

       Mutely, The girl's violet eyes met the Perfect Soldier's icy blue gaze. Silently, he nodded his head as if he knew exactly what Hotaru was plotting. Hopefully the other ex-gundam pilots will realize what was about to occur.

       Cautiously, the dark-haired teenaged girl reached up to brush a lock of hair out of her face while she secretly removed an earring, concealing the piece of jewelry in her hand. 

       Taking a deep breath she began to speak, glancing at each of the pilots throughout the entire speech. "Smoking is very bad for you. Before you know it, you're in front of an X-ray screen, which depicts the insidious lung cancer that has violated your body. Your lungs soon scream for air but it's too late. Soon, it's almost as if you've been smothered. Covering your mouth and nose while your ears ring before dropping dead, taking your breath away."

       The Iron Fist agents looked highly confused at the girl as if she had just gone insane. 'What was that girl just babbling about?'

       The ex-pilots on the other hand, knew better. Well most of them.

       Trowa blinked as his eyes shifted to Hotaru's face. 'Hn. Did she just cryptically say what I thought she did?'

       'Perhaps Hotaru isn't such a weak girl after all. Actually I believe she is probably far from it. I wonder if Maxwell understood the warning.' The Chinese teen thought as he tried to prepare for the plan to take effect.

       'Good use of code, Firefly. Hopefully the others recognized it as well,' Heero decided as he nodded his head to Hotaru.

       Duo frowned, dropping his gaze to the floor. 'Why did she talk about lung cancer?!'

       'Okay, either Hotaru is strongly against smoking or she just alerted us about creating a smoke screen,' Quatre pondered as he looked at his friends.

       Hotaru sighed, wondering if perhaps she was a little too cryptic. 'Great. Maybe they all didn't understand what I meant. Better try something else before Iron Fist gets suspicious.' Pointing towards the center of the room the dark-haired girl shouted, "Look at each other and indicate whether you understand smoking can be deadly. I'm serious! No more cigarettes!"

       The five teenagers exchanged glances, almost as if asking whether they knew what the psychotic acting girl was planning. 

       "Ouch My ear hurts! Damn these earrings!" the girl groaned loudly, pacing around the room. 

       "Great, looks like Firefly finally went over the deep end," one of Iron Fist's guard grumbled as they watched the girl prance around the room.

       'I hope that was not too obvious!' Hotaru thought as she cringed at her friends. Apparently only Duo was oblivious to the girl's masked scheme.

       Trowa sighed as he began coughing while the others came to the same conclusion as well. Their braided-haired friend still did not understand Hotaru's strange antics.

       "Maxwell, cover your mouth," Wufei said quietly.

       "Huh?" Duo asked as he stared at the Chinese teen. 'Did Wu-man just lose his mind?'

       The green-eyed ex-pilot coughed again, louder this time. 

       Heero looked straight into cobalt blue-eyed teen's eyes as he said, "Duo, cover your mouth. We know you're allergic to smoke."

       "Your nose is starting to run too," Quatre whispered, in hopes that their friend would understand what was about to occur.

       "Ah! My earring is caught in my hair," Hotaru abruptly cried out as she stared at Duo as well, who finally nods his head in recognition. 

       The red haired guard however was growing impatient. "Enough of this insipid babbling! I know exactly what you are planning Firefly. I saw right through your little act and you no longer have any time left to buy! Surrender now or they shall die!" 

       'Good, he's just as stupid as he looks.' The girl glanced down at each of the ex-pilots, carefully catching them in the eye before replying, "Okay." Swiftly she tossed the earring to the ground as she and the five teenaged boys took a deep breath and covered their mouths and noses. Suddenly a loud popping sound echoed in the large room, which soon filled with a thick smoke.  

       "Shit! She had a gas bomb! Hold your breath!" on of the men yelled as the other guards slowly went down, coughing and wheezing with an excruciating amount of pain. 

       Heero crawled over to the unconscious red headed man, and dug out the handcuff keys from his pocket, while successfully not drawing a single breath as his friends rushed out of the smoke filled mansion.

       Hotaru as well, searched through another passed out guards pocket frantically for keys, which finally after several attempts, she located. Two pairs were better than one.

       Quickly, the two teens raced out of the mansion as fact as they could. The girl only stopped once to grab her laptop, knowing how vital it was to have access to at least one of Iron Fist's data. 

       By the time, she made it outside, the ex-pilots were kneeling on the grass, gasping for air. Only the Perfect Soldier appeared, to be handling the lack of oxygen all right as he freed the others of their shackles.              

       Hotaru let out the breath she was holding, oddly appearing as if she were only holding it for a second rather than a few minutes. Silently she tossed the other set of keys to Quatre who began freeing Wufei and then Heero.

       "Good job," Heero complimented the girl who received nods of agreement from the rest of the group. 

       Urgently, however she shook her head vigorously. "This is far from over. We have to get out of here now."

       "She's right. I don't know whether we are wanted dead anymore, but they still seem to be focused on apprehending the six of us now," Quatre nodded his head in agreement. 

       "Uh, question? Where are we going to go?" the chestnut brown-haired teen asked as he stood up from where his was trying to catch his breath.

       Hotaru began heading off in the opposite direction of the van, which made the teens very skeptical of her actions. "Anywhere but here."

       "Hotaru, where are you going? The van is back that way," The circus performer quietly said, but the girl continued walking in the same direction she started off in. 

       "Because they probably threw in a detonation device which will cause the van to explode once the ignition key is turned on. Always was a great backup plan if the main one fails. You still get your man in the end. Anyway, stay there, I need to stash the laptop incase we run into any problems," the girl answered with her back still turned towards to the other teens. 

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru walked practically to the opposite side of the property before she found he perfect place to hide her portable computer containing very valuable information. Glancing up, she noted there was a very large tree with enormous branches stretched out several feet from the mansion. 

       Quickly, she spun around, as if to inspect whether she was being watched before tossing the laptop, which landed safely on a particularly high branch. 'Now to get back to the others,' the dark-haired girl thought as she took off running back the way she came. 

       "I just hope nothing has happened while I've been gone!"

*~*~*~*

       At that moment, Chaos had broken out once again. The ex-gundam pilots found themselves fighting for their lives against a group of large group of guards. 

       Quatre was fighting as hard as possible, but he never was too good at hand to hand. Needless to say, the blonde still possessed the ability to hold his own. Each punch and kick successfully found its target. It was odd, first he was winning and then they had to bring out the big hulk like guard, which sent the poor boy flying into the side of the mansion, practically knocking the sense out of him.      

       After one spinning kick, Wufei found himself having an advantage. The guys he was contending against were too weak. Unfortunately, ignorance is not always bliss because Iron Fist decided to play a little tag team, by bringing in a guy who was twice the size of the Chinese teen, making the battle even worse. Every hit Wufei scored, caused little to no pain. It was like trying to fight an oak tree! Unfortunately, one punch was all it took to end that fight, leaving the teen sprawled painfully on the ground.

       Trowa was doing well against the Iron Fist guard. He could fight just as well as he could pilot a mobile suit. The two practically went together. Unfortunately, once they decided to play dirty by a guard who appeared to eat steroids for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The circus performer was growing tired and losing his upper hand. Soon he found the wind knocked out of him, followed by a blow, which he swore he saw stars before going down.

       The long haired teen could battle like the best of them. Sure usually it was dirty but hey, he was still winning! Duo, In fact immobilized one guy due to a kick in the knee, which probably either broke or dislocated it, and quite frankly, the teen could care less. That one kick, sadly created open opportunity for another opponent, a big burly Iron Fist guard that could probably beat the teen to a pulp. Regardless, Duo gave all he could, and lost, dropping painfully to the guard as he clutched his stomach.

             Heero Yuy, was able to stay strong against the guard he was confronting. a few spinning  kicks here, several punches there, and some elbow and thrusts as well. The guard stood no chance against the Perfect Soldier. This fact unfortunately, became the Prussian blue-eyed teen's undoing as they decided to have a hulk-like guard join the strife, turning the tables in result. One fatal blow to head threw the teen to the ground, causing him to lose consciousness.

       With snickers, the guards managed to carry off Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell, just as Hotaru arrived on the scene, but she was too late. The Iron Fist thugs had already left with the two teens in their clutches.

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long to update but I had a hard time piecing this chapter together. Some of my chapters are preplanned while others, like this one, are spur of the moment. 

Another fact that helped was my new Staind Cd. I can actually visualize It's been Awhile, as a music Vid for this story. It goes too perfectly! Hmm, Perhaps I'll do that after my story is over with. Why after? There's some scene in my head that have not been written yet.

Um, sorry about the cliffhanger again but if I don't then, I'll have to put this chapter out much later because I need to do a little research on something. At least I am exactly where I want to be. Now things will get very interesting.   

Thank you for the reviews and I'm glad everyone is enjoying my nice dark suspenseful story. ^_^

Hopefully I will have updated again sometime next week if not sooner.


	13. The Hunt

Shattered Reality Part 13

The Hunt

by

Sailor Janus

       Hotaru could not believe her eyes. What the hell happened?! Apparently she had missed a rather brutal fight. Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre appeared pretty badly beat up. 'Wait.... where's Heero? And Duo for that matter?! Damn it! What did I miss?!' she thought, racing toward the fallen guys.

        "No, he's gone," the girl breathed as she sprinted up to the Trowa who was still lying on the grass. "Trowa! Trowa, please wake up and tell me what the hell just happened?!" she cried out, slapping the teen across the face, but he didn't respond.

      "Give him time Tomoe. We've all pretty much had the beating of our lives," Wufei said wincing due to the excruciating pain emitting from his knee as he numbly stood up. 

       Hotaru looked remorsefully up at the Chinese teen. Why did everything have to happen at the exact moment she decided to hide their only lead to Iron Fist's plans?!  'Why am I feeling guilt? I have never felt it at this level. What is going on?!'

       "They took Heero and Duo. I can't seem to recall too much of what else went on because my head feels so foggy," the blonde weakly announced from the grass next to the mansion as a thin line of blood trickled down the side of his face. "I thought they were after you."

       "So did I," the girl muttered as she focused on the large house. Someone was going to severely regret what he or she had done. 

       The green-eyed teen came to as well, but Hotaru did not even notice. She had something else on her mind. "Hotaru, where are you going?!" Trowa asked, as confusion hit him. 

       "To find a mouse and make it squeak," she said in a monotone voice while practically stalking towards the mansion. "Go to the tree at the far end of the yard and get my laptop. I need to examine a few more files before concocting a plan."

       The three ex-pilots exchanged glances. They knew very well that Hotaru meant business. She had more than successfully demonstrate her lethal abilities. 

       "From the looks of it, arguing with her would be a very foolish action right now," Quatre sighed as he carefully climbed to his shaky feet. It didn't feel like anything was broken. Hopefully he didn't have a concussion either.

       The other two ex-pilots nodded their heads in agreement. "I pity whoever is interrogated by her," Trowa quietly said as they began the short hike to retrieve the girl's computer.

*~*~*~*        

       Any trace of warmth in Hotaru's violet eyes had long since faded from existence. Her eyes shone darkly with a very apparent malicious light as she swung open the heavy wooden door and stepped inside. It almost appeared the girl was back to her old callous self. The pretty assassin was back, and once again someone was about to scream in pain.

       The gas had long since dissipated, this fact the dark-haired teen knew that for certain. The once lovely mansion now lay in complete shambles. Broken glass scattered across the hard wooden floors as bullets holes graced various walls and furniture. 'Who even owns this place better have good insurance,' Hotaru thought as several shards of glass crunched under her boots. 

       Suddenly, she her a low groan. It was coming from the redhead who threatened to execute the ex-pilots if she didn't surrender. This might be more worthwhile than she previously thought. Too bad he was unfortunate enough to be left behind. Red was about to regret with a dire passion, ever having heard of Iron Fist and the girl who committed treason against them. Hotaru going to guarantee it.

*~*~*~*

       Heero slowly opened his eyes but found it near impossible to keep them open. There was a rather unusual sensation running through the inside of his head. 'Damn it. They must have drugged me. Feels really strong, whatever the hell they used,' he managed to decide before an extreme amount of confusion slammed into his thoughts, making it near impossible to function. 

       The Perfect Soldier heard a moan next him, which sounded remarkably like Duo. He has heard the sarcastic ex-pilot in pain more times than he could remember. The braided-haired teen seemed to have a rather bad habit about not being able to keep his mouth shut. 

       The last question on Heero's mind before he lost consciousness at the moment was, did they kidnap everyone else and where were they being taken? Deep down he really hoped that they did not find Hotaru. If anyone had to suffer through this whole ordeal, he'd rather it be himself. Somehow, though, the Prussian blue-eyed teen figured that even if Iron Fist was not successful in finding the girl that she would probably be next.  

*~*~*~*

       It didn't take too much time for Hotaru to locate some duct tape to bind her still incoherent prisoner's hands and feet together, lastly placing a large piece across his mouth as well. From there she managed to lift Red up and constrict him to a hard wooden chair with a rather nice looking bullet hole in the center.        

       As soon as she firmly secured the massive amounts of tape to the man, he began to gain consciousness. Rather than commence the interrogation now, the dark-haired girl decided to let the Iron Fist guard sweat a little as she inspected the rest of the home for more prisoners before going upstairs to her room, for some well needed supplies. 

       By the time she returned, Red appeared to be very livid. "I guess you aren't as well liked as you thought. Don't worry. This won't hurt much," Hotaru drawled as she approached the chair and quickly ripped the tape concealing the redhead's mouth that cried out in pain.

       "We are going to play a little game. You tell me what I want to know, and I will make the pain minimal," the violet-eyed teen whispered, crossing her arms over her bloodstained shirt. 

       "Go to hell bitch," the man growled which only made the girl roll her eyes. Torture was not exactly Hotaru's favorite method of gaining information. Hacking was the preferable one, but this moment, she had to use the resources she had. It was the only way she was going to be able to save Heero, Duo, and possibly cease Iron Fist's control.

        The girl roughly grabbed Red by the front of his shirt. "Don't mess with me. I can and will make you feel pain beyond your wildest dreams. I am capable of that much and more," she spat in his face. "Question one. Where did they take Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell?"

       "I don't know what you are talking about," the man sneered before Hotaru slapped him across the face. "Look I don't know who they took or whatever! I was knocked out because of your damn gas bomb remember?"

       Quietly she dropped his shirt, and backed away a foot or two. "Fine. Then where is your headquarters? If you give me a sarcastic answer then I'm going to have to get nasty real fast."     

       The guard chuckled until his face twisted in agony as the girl took out a gun and fired into his leg above his kneecap. "Shit!"

       Hotaru's expression however had not changed. She still possessed the same hard look she had upon entering the mansion. "Perhaps now you will take me seriously. One more time, where is your headquarters?"

       At this time, the three ex-pilots entered the room, stunned to find that Hotaru had indeed almost blown the guy's knee off. Of course, foolishly, the man still didn't answer. What Hotaru did next, the teens would probably never forget as they agreed no doubt, that the girl was not someone you wanted to cross.

       "I am growing tired of your stubbornness so I shall grant you one last chance. You are going to tell me exactly where your headquarters is or I'm going to make sure it is impossible for you to ever have the ability to pass your genes around and it will hurt like hell," the girl said as she selected a new target to shoot. 

       Red's eyes grew huge with terror as he stared at Hotaru. If she had the ability to put a bullet in his knee without even a hint of hesitation then she probably wouldn't mind shooting him below the groin as well. The girl aimed her gun straight at his groin level and just before she pulled the trigger, moved the swiftly to the right, sending the bullet speeding into the floor, startling her intended victim.

       "ALL RIGHT! DON'T SHOOT!" the Iron First guard shouted as a cold sweat dripped down his face. Hotaru lowered her gun and clicked on the safety as she crossed her arms again, intently ready to hear what the trembling man had to say.

       Quatre could not believe his eyes. Hotaru was actually successful in gaining information but still, she appeared very cold and sinister while doing it. Now he understood greatly how she was able to succeed as a killer. "Wow, remind me never to get on Hotaru's bad side!"

       'I would have to agree with you on that one,' Trowa thought, nodding his head in agreement. He knew the girl had the capacity to maim and kill a person of her choosing, but actually witnessing it, was still a very surreal experience. 

       The Chinese teen was in complete shock. 'Was Heero ever this malicious?' he wondered before concluding, 'Perhaps, the two really do deserve each other.'

       "Well? I'm waiting," Hotaru said as she glared at the man who shaking tremendously in the wooden chair he was bound to. 'Damn it. I don't have time to wait for you to catch your breath!'  she thought while clicking the safety off again.

       'Geez! Who the hell is this girl?!' the Iron Fist guard thought as he stared into Hotaru's cold violet eyes. "Fine. You win. The main headquarters is about ninety miles south of here in a building known as Elite Silver, which is found in a remote location outside of Draven City. If they were taken any place, then it was probably there. Happy now?! I gave you what you want!"

       Hotaru merely glanced at the guard as she clicked the safety on once again. It was funny how crazy people, particularly men reacted to a certain body part. "Did you guys find my laptop?" she questioned the ex-gundam pilots who were still staring at the Iron Fist Guard, tied to a chair. 

       "Um, yes," Quatre quickly said as he handed the girl her portable computer. "How did you know that they were taken someplace else and not Station Red?" he inquired as the girl flipped open the computer and quickly turned it on. 

       "Station Red would be too obvious by now, not to mention that during my rescue mission, Heero and Duo took it upon themselves to load the place with explosives which detonated twenty minutes after you had left the site. I guess you could say they probably like to make things go boom," Hotaru stated as she was about to place the disk containing information on Iron Fist into her disk drive when something else flashed on the screen. "What's this?"

       "What?" the green-eyed teen asked as he and the other ex-pilots gazed over the dark-haired girl's shoulder. 

       Wufei raised an eyebrow at the screen. "You don't know what an email is? And how long have you had that computer?"

       Hotaru glared at him before she explained the dilemma. "I know what an email is but whatever it is, was sent to my Code address, which I thought it was deactivated. After I had cut the strings on Iron Fist, it should have gone under obsolete. I do not recognize their address either."

       "I guess the only way we'll know is if you open the email," the Arabian shrugged. "I mean, maybe it's just a fluke."

       "It is addressed to Firefly and the Gundam Pilots," the violet-eyed girl simply said gaining a few gasps.

       The Chinese teen appeared bewildered as he focused at the heading of the email portrayed on the computer screen. "How-how did they know? I mean are they with Iron Fist or is it someone else?"

       "Maybe it is Iron Fist asking for a ransom on Heero and Duo," Trowa suggested which only received a headshake from Hotaru as she opened the message and began to read it aloud.

       "Dear Firefly and Gundam Pilots. We do mean to alarm you by our sudden contact, but time is of the essence. Please report to the Draven West Edge Warehouse. It is imperative you come for we have something you maybe be very interested in. signed, E," the girl ended as she spun her head around to face the three boys. "Well, this is an interesting turn of events."

       "Hn, first Heero and Duo are kidnapped and now this. Do you suppose the two could be linked?" Trowa speculated as he stood up, placing his hand on his chin in thought.

       "No. From the sound of it, Stanz is arrogant enough to try physically drag us someplace," Quatre brought up as everyone in turn began to plot what to do next. "I wonder why they only took Heero and Duo but not the rest of us. They certainly had the chance."

       Wufei scoffed at the suggestion, crossing his arms in disgust at the whole situation, "Perhaps because they were the ones who both infiltrated Station Red and rescued Tomoe. They probably want revenge."       

       "Or they are setting a trap for me using them as bait. It's like a human chess game. They have already caught two of my pieces in one single move and now it's my turn to move a playing piece," Hotaru announced as she frantically searched for maps on the locations to the two given destinations. 

       'Wow, that actually makes sense. They're still after her even after all this time,' the blonde thought as he turned towards the girl that was busily printing on her computer. "So what are you going to do, Hotaru?" 

       Quickly she tore off the two sheets and handed one to the Quatre. "The queen is going alone. You three are going to see whoever E is and whatever he or she believes we would be interested in." 

       "What?!" Quatre abruptly shouted as he stared at the girl who began retreating upstairs.

       "You're insane Tomoe!" The Chinese teen yelled loud enough that Hotaru could hear even once she had entered her room. 

*~*~*~*

       'They won't understand now, but later they will. First I need to change out this shirt. The blood on it is nauseating me,' the girl thought as she pulled out a dark blue T shirt and pulled it over a fresh purple tank top. She had no clue why, but the color seemed almost comforting in a strange way. Swiftly, she pulled out her other bag, which held her weapons and her favorite black jacket. This was going to take a lot of work. 

*~*~*~*

       "Stupid girl is going to get herself killed," Wufei grumbled, unable to believe that a girl would take it upon herself to go alone! It was absurd! Of course Hotaru was no ordinary girl. Still, it was a really risky action to take, especially since over half the world was on the look out for the dangerous ex-assassin. 

       "No she won't. She's much too cleaver. If Hotaru dies, then it's because she either surrendered or sacrificed herself for a better cause than her own existence. She's much too determined." Trowa quietly argued as he leaned against the wall behind him. 

       Quatre meanwhile, was busy studying the directions to Draven City. If Hotaru's skills are exactly what she had demonstrated them earlier, then the girl had a very good chance of getting in and out alive with Heero and Duo right behind her. 

       A few seconds later, Hotaru marched down the stairs appearing as if she were on a mission, which her mind, was very likely to be true. "You better leave now as well. The sooner, the better." 

       The three teens nodded their heads. They had already acquired the needed arsenal, for the trip, just in case they were to run into trouble. 

       Abruptly, the dark-haired girl tossed some clothing to the guys. "Here. You're better off wearing some sort of disguise since we are still highly wanted. Don't worry. They're guys' clothing."

       "Thanks Hotaru," Quatre quietly said as he pulled on the baggy sweatshirt, hat, and sunglasses.

       Wufei and Trowa each nodded their thanks slipping into the shirts, hats, and sunglasses provided by the girl who placed a pair of dark sunglasses over her violet eyes as they headed out the door. 

       "What about him?" Quatre asked, as he pointed out the Iron Fist guard who was watching them leave. 

       "Just leave him. I don't find pleasure in taking a life. I only do it if I have no choice," Hotaru admitted as she stared straight ahead. "Perhaps he'll get lucky and his buddies will miss him. Probably not though."

       "Wait. Isn't there a detonation device in the van?" the circus performer reminded them as he watched Hotaru walk past, pulled a small object out of her pocket and pressed the tiny button. 

       "Hmm, it appears the device was very poorly done," she said, approaching the vehicle. Carefully, Hotaru lifted up the hood, and found a small bomb inside. "This is so sad. I have done much better jobs at this than these guys did."

       "That device, reads detonation devices?" the blonde quizzically said as he watched the girl deactivate the explosive with a small pair of pliers, which were oddly in her pocket.

       The girl only nodded as she moved from the engine to the driver's seat. 'One more wire should do it,' she thought before once again returning to the hood of the car and pulled out the bomb then quickly took the electronic apart to the point where is was no better than a piece of scrap metal. After replacing the hood, she walked back towards the pilots, and placed the detonation detector in Trowa's hand. "You may need it."

       "What about you?" the brown-haired teen asked as the girl began to walk past them, dumping the bomb in the trashcan.

       "I had two," she simply stated as the three ex-pilots watched her curiously. "Don't even think of following me. I need you three to report to E's and get whatever it is he or she wants us to have." Carefully, Hotaru pulled out a rather large object from the bushes. Oddly enough, it was a motorcycle.

       "But how... you're stealing a motorcycle?!"  Quatre blinked as the girl pulled a pair of keys from the pocket of her jeans. Apparently, she must have swiped them from Red while he was still unconscious.

       The dark-haired girl grabbed the helmet from the ground, peering curiously at it before putting it on her head and hopped on. "I'm only returning it," she shrugged as placing the key into the ignition and quickly started it with an easy thrust. With one glimpse back at the three ex-pilots, she speed off with a deafening roar.

       "Godspeed Hotaru," Quatre whispered as he followed Trowa and Wufei to the van. 

*~*~*~*

       "Heero. Hey Heero. Wake up!" Duo said in hopes that his best friend wasn't comatose or something even worse. 

       Groggily, the Perfect Soldier opened his eyes and peered around the room he was in which remarkably resembled a prison cell. 

       "Good you're still alive! Pretty great room huh? But I think I would have preferred the presidential suite personally. This one just doesn't seem to have a great view. Not to mention the really drab colors," the cobalt blue-eyed teen smirked as he watched Heero try to ease himself off the floor, which quite a feat considering both his wrists and ankles were shackled. 

       Dazedly, he continued his examination of the room, but found it nearly impossible to focus on anything. Whatever they had used to knock him out was still probably in effect. "When did we get here?"

       "No clue. I just woke up a few minutes ago. Those drugs they used on us are pretty nasty stuff. It makes me feel like I took too much cough syrup or something, but ten times as strong if not more," Duo admitted as he leaned himself against the wall since he was still much too dizzy to stand without falling over.

       "Hn," Heero nodded as he managed to pull himself to the opposite wall. Trying to form a plan at this point was futile since he still could not think straight. Everything was in complete jumbles, none of which made sense. Damn them.

*~*~*~*

       'Damn it. This is all my doing. I'm the one Iron Fist wants, but instead they target the ex-pilots once again. They better not have harmed either of them or so help me, I'll get very ornery,' Hotaru thought as she whizzed through the countryside at a high level of speed. It did not matter to her if the cops were to try to pull her over or not. They would never catch Hotaru anyway. 

       'Hmm, I should be coming close to the intersection where I need to turn off at. Here we go.' With a quick turn, the violet-eyed girl found herself battling traffic to her dismay. 'Great, there has to be a way out of this.'  Hotaru felt she was too pressed for time to play it safe so she gunned it, driving along the side of the road. There was just too much at jeopardy. 

*~*~*~*

       Trowa took the streets steadily, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. All three teens were very inquisitive over what E had for them. One thought came to mind, which would be a very welcome surprise, new Gundams. They had self-detonated their own back in AC 196 and the scientists who had built them perished on the battleship Libra back in AC 195, so if it were new Gundams, how could it be possible? 

       "I hope the others are okay," Quatre thoughtfully chirped in the passenger seat next to the tall teen. He knew they could handle themselves, but Iron Fist seemed to so sly, that they could easily throw his friends off guard. Perhaps Hotaru was the only one who could predict what was to be expected, but then again, there was so much, which they had kept hidden from the girl that maybe even she didn't have a very good chance against them. The Arabian gravely wished Hotaru had allowed at least one of them to accompany her, but she strongly refused. It appeared, stubbornness was another lovely quality to the callous, deadly, yet highly intelligent female assassin and hacker. 

       Wufei stared out the window before replying, "They should make. Can't say it'll be easy though. Since it's the main headquarters, it should be heavily guarded. Perhaps the fact that Tomoe herself is highly unpredictable, is the only thing she has to her advantage. Everything else maybe left up to chance."

       The other two teens nodded as they drove in silence, unaware that as soon as they had entered Draven City, they were being followed. 

*~*~*~*

       Shockingly, no one attempted to pull Hotaru over. At least that made her life a little easier, for now anyway. The girl still had quite a few obstacles left to face. "Please let them still be alive," she softly said to herself, while making another turn. "In less than thirty minutes, I should know."

*~*~*~*

       Heero and Duo both finally regained their normal senses once again, eagerly plotting an escape when suddenly the cell door swung open revealing a tall lanky white-haired man wearing glasses. "Hello gentlemen. I am Prof T. Now that I have introduced myself, I inquire that you tell me which of you is the one who presently refers to himself as Heero Yuy."

       The two teens exchanged glances as they both pointed to each other and cried out, "He is!" this action however caused the Professor to roll his eyes in annoyance, wishing he knew why every single job he did was more like pulling teeth.

       Heero glared at Duo as he said, "Heero, stop trying to steal my identity."

       "Me?! You're the one who's trying to steal my identity just like you did last time!" the chestnut brown-haired teen gaped as he crossed his arms feeling outraged.

       "Heero, stop lying because we both know that I don't. I may run and hide but I never tell a lie," the Perfect Soldier drawled which cause his friend to drop his jaw. 

       With a snort of disgust Duo muttered, "Great. Now he's stealing my slogans." 

       The scientist was now highly aggravated. "Enough of this insipid pity bickering! I guess we'll just have to find out the hard way," he sneered, signaling for several guards to hold each teen down as the Professor drew blood from both of them. 

       "Blood test?! But how do you know Heero's blood type and everything?!" Duo gasped as the needle pierced into his skin while he tried not to squirm.

       This question made the scientist chuckle. "We have known the boy quite well since he was a youngster. But enough of that for now. We must run a few tests to determine which of you is Heero Yuy." With that last word, the man followed by the guards left the bandaged teens alone in their cell. 

       The Perfect Soldier stared bewildered at the wall. 'What does he mean they have known me quite well as a youngster?! How could that be?' 

       The braided-haired ex-pilot was contemplating the same thing. "Did any of that make sense to you? I mean if they knew you, then why can't they pick out a Japanese boy from an American? The only way we are remotely similar is that we both are the same height, have blue eyes although a different shade, around the same weight and have brown hair but yours is darker. Other than that, we are nothing alike. This just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Duo sighed, as he winced at his arm that blood was taken out of. Lately he seemed to be having way too many run-ins with needles. 

       "The only thing I can think of is they may have lost a few files such as my race and some other details. Other than that, I'm confused as well," Heero admitted as he watched the door. It was very likely that any minute, they would be coming for him. The question was why? And what were they planning to do to him?   

       A few minutes later, several guards rushed into the cell, sending the door crashing into the wall. Next they practically dragged the two ex-pilots in separate directions as the teens struggled relentlessly against the brute strength until both passed out. Drugged once again at the hand of the crazed scientist.

*~*~*~*

       The drive to the warehouse was long and tedious, but they made it no less without confrontation of any kind. In an odd way, the teens were disappointed since they were wanted criminals who were portrayed as ruthless killer so well by the media, that it would seem, the authorities would have done vehicle inspections or something to insure the safety of their people. Of course since Nitol Stanz was now in charge, everything seemed to have gone a lot looser. 

       However, the three friends were still very unaware at the fact that they were being watched as they entered the seemingly abandoned warehouse. 

*~*~*~*

       From across the street a figure smirked as she carefully the three wanted ex-pilots leaving their van. "Hey Key, do you see who I see?" 

       The first girl's friend blinked, trying to shake herself out of a daydream. "Huh? yes, Poetry."

       The curly-haired girl was rather impatient as she stared at the three guys who were leaving, through her binoculars. "Well, should we go exterminate them now or wait until our fingernails dry?!" the girl dryly inquired, rolling her green eyes.       

       That woke her partner up. "What is that supposed to mean?" the dark green tinted-haired girl asked as she arched an eyebrow at her friend. 

       "Just checking to see if you were listening," the girl nervously said. "Come on! This is no fun sitting in the dirt!" 

       The girl known as Key blinked at her friend who was now rocking back forth on the balls of her feet. "Poetry, sometimes I wonder about you."

       "Hmph!" 

       'At least that shut her up, but probably won't last for too long,' the taller girl thought as she lost sight of the three boys. 

       "Great! Now they have left!" Poetry grumbled, as she crossed her arms. 

       "Fine. We'll wait until they leave the warehouse and then we can strike," Key simply said deciding that was the most logical way to complete their mission.

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru made a sharp turn, finding herself facing a large mansion-like building. 'Well, you must be Elite Silver. Hmm, Stanz seems to really like his colors,' she concluded, driving hard on the grass. 

       Suddenly she was greeted by a large group of guards. Rather than stopping and making a run for it like any normal person, the daring girl decided she had a better chance trying to speed through them, with one hand firing off her gun, successfully hitting anyone who was a threat. 

       'Okay, the door would not be the best idea, but one of those large window will do nicely,' she decided, as she increased the speed on the worn out motorbike, heading straight towards one of the glass windows with one lone guard trying to block her. 

*~*~*~*

       Duo sat bound to a metal chair, very unamused. The guy that was guarding him was giving him a royal headache with his stupid questions and death threats. "So um, why am I here anyway?"

       "Shut up! Answer my question first. Where is the girl at?" the snooty blonde growled which made the cobalt blue-eyed teen long to roll his eyes, but his didn't feel like being smacked in the head by the butt of the rifle again. 

       "What girl?" Duo innocently asked which made the frustrated guard stand up, and point the rifle at the ex-pilot once again. 

       The chestnut brown-haired teen gulped, staring reluctantly at the end of the rifle with wide eyes. 'Oh geez, this guy is really losing it!'      

*~*~*~*

       Heero found himself staring at the floor as his head seemed to feel like it was spinning. All he could remember was waking up on the cold dirty floor, the practically vomiting his brains out. He had never in his life felt this sick before. The pain was excruciating, worse than anything he had ever experienced. Oddly the sensation resembled being torn apart from the inside out. 

       Only one thought came to mind. They had injected him with the same exact virus they had used on Hotaru. 'Damn, them. Is this why they wanted me? To kill me?'

       Abruptly, the ex-pilot groaned as a huge wave of pain coursed through his body. It hurt so much to think, move and even breathe. 'This was the agony Firefly had to suffer through?! Damn she is a hell of a lot stronger than even I imagined.' 

       Tightly, Heero crossed his arms over his stomach not even realizing that he was free from of his restraints. It wasn't like he could actually do anything now other than retch and cringe in pain. 

*~*~*~*

       The three teens entered the old abandoned warehouse but oddly found it was pitch black inside. What exactly is going on?! Was this some type of a joke or a trap?

       Suddenly, a low voice echoed in the ex-pilots' ears, "At last. We have been expecting you."

       Wufei turned around, as he wildly inspected the room. "Where are you?! Show yourself!" 

       "Um, E is it? We have come here on your request," Quatre shakily announced as he followed the frantic Chinese teen inside with Trowa walking in behind him.       

       "You mean yourselves my dear boy," another voice said when the lights suddenly flashed on. Silencing the ex-pilots as they stared in amazement. 

*~*~*~*

      Hotaru was coming closer to the window by every second, of course the foolish guard refused to move. 'Why must everyone try to be the hero?' she sighed before shouting. "Move now or die."

      Finally, the guard, dove out of the way, proving that he really was spineless. Oh well, got to the guy credit for trying. 

      In the matter of seconds, Hotaru crashed through the glass window interrupting a very bad looking interrogation of Duo who has probably had better days which did not involve being kidnapped and staring down the wrong end of a rifle. 

      Just then, the silence was broken by the sound of clapping. "Brilliant rescue attempt Firefly. I am amazed at your level of skills," Stanz praised the girl who glared in return as she climbed off the motorcycle, aiming her gun at the leader of Iron Fist, as she peeled the helmet off her head with the other hand. 

      "Can, the flattery. Where is Heero?" Hotaru harshly said, as she clicked the safety off of her handgun. It was out of bullets, but they didn't need that information. 

      The dark-haired man chuckled at the girl's attitude. "He's indisposed at the moment, I'm afraid."

       The violet-eyed girl arched an eyebrow in response. "Oh, then will you go fetch him. I'm kind of in a hurry."

     "I'm afraid not my dear. You see, he's fallen rather ill with a nasty virus. He has a rather terrible spinning sensation in the head followed by vomiting and immense pain in his body, but mostly coming from his abdomen. It's really quite deadly without the cure. 

       Hotaru and Duo both appeared horrified at what they had done to poor Heero. The girl stared in moderate shock at the snickering man while the boy's jaw about hit the floor as his eyes grew wide in disbelief.

       The girl regardless held her gun steady, but still appeared slightly shaken. She could only hope that it was a bluff. "Let's make a deal then. I'll surrender myself if and only if you give Heero the antidote and release both him and Duo without any means of execution whatsoever."

       "Hotaru! No! We aren't worth it!" the braided-haired teen shouted as he stared in horror at the girl's suggestion. 'How could she be so stupid giving up her life for ours?!'

       "Silence Duo!" Hotaru coldly said with a deadly glare. She didn't mean to be so callous towards him, but if he wanted to live, then for once, Duo better shut up. "Well, Stanz? The decision is up to you."

       The proud leader's answer however surprised the girl. "I decline. However. I will allow this boy to go with a death pardon and will grant Yuy with the antidote, but do not wish to release him, for we have further plans for the lad." Hotaru was just about to protest when Stanz quickly interjected. "But if you desist Firefly, we will eradicate the one called Duo Maxwell, sitting in front of you at this moment, no questions asked. Now the ball is in your court."

       "Me for Duo?" The dark-haired girl asked as she stared at the man who nodded his head. Hotaru glanced at Duo before contemplating her own question, "What are they going to do to Heero? I need to stop them.' Taking one last look at the cobalt blue-eyed ex-pilot who was shaking his head, as he trembled, knowing either answer had it's own consequences. Hotaru drew a quick breath as she lowered her gun firmly stating, "I...accept."

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Sorry for leaving this at an extreme cliffhanger but not much more will fit, lol. Gee I believe I have at least three if not four cliffhangers in here. Usually when I have a cliffhanger it's called, "Gee, now what am I going to do?!" That was the slight case here. 

Anyone confused about the girls Key and Poetry? Don't worry, you'll find out more about them in the next chapter, as well, as quite a few links to the story. This thing is a lot more involved than it appears to be.  I'm guessing some of you may have figured out who the two girls are or at least one. I will guarantee you'll like Poetry.  

Um, can't think of anything more. This is officially my longest chapter ever! I'm on page two now! 

Next chapter out next week....

Secrets come together like missing puzzle pieces.       


	14. Missing Puzzle Pieces

Shattered Reality Part 14

Missing Puzzle Pieces

by

Sailor Janus

       Hotaru drew a quick breath as she lowered her gun firmly stating, "I...accept."

        "Hotaru! No don't say that! She doesn't accept! Kill me!" the chestnut brown-haired teen yelled as he struggled in the metal chair. 

      The dark-haired girl shook her head at her raging friend. "Sorry Duo, but my decision is final," she quietly said, removing her jacket as Stanz motioned for the guards release Duo from the chair. 

       "Quite a noble choice Firefly, yourself for a friend," the Iron Fist leader snickered as the girl deathly glared at him.

       "You better keep your word, and to be for certain that no harm shall come to Duo, I'm giving him my jacket. I also want you to allow him a mode of transportation, and I'll go freely without a struggle. Do we have a deal?" Hotaru sternly said, staring into the man's coal black eyes. 

       The egotistical leader nodded his head, "Agreed. Duo Maxwell for one day, shall be pardoned from his death, and anyone who sheds his blood, I'll take their life, myself." 

       Stiffly, the cobalt blue eyed teen stood up free from his confinements. Carefully, the violet-eyed girl walked up to him, placing her black leather jacket in his hands as she secretly slid a slip of paper in between his fingertips. "I have to do this. There is no other way. Goodbye Duo," Hotaru whispered with a tone of remorse in her voice. 

       "Good luck, Hotaru. Try to stay alive. Both you," he urged, as the guards came up from behind the girl, placing her wrists in shackles. "We won't forget about you!" he cried out while the guards escorted him out of the building. 

       The dark-haired teen silently watched her friend leave. 'Thank you Duo. I guess Trowa is right; the only way I'll die is if I surrender or sacrifice myself. How ironic that it's both of them which shall be my undoing,' she thought as the guards checked her for any concealed weapons with a special detector.

       "I am quite gratefully that the final piece to the puzzle has brought herself," Stanz glowered which resulted in Hotaru spinning around, to face him. 

       "What?!"

*~*~*~*

       Duo found himself being shoved out the large mansion's heavy wooden doors, with a pair of keys forced into his hand. 

       "You have less than thirty seconds to leave," a blonde-haired guard growled as he pointed to the road bordered by a vast rich green lawn on each side which was fairly well torn up, with thin tire tracks trails sliced into the landscape. Duo had to snicker at the destruction that Hotaru had caused to Stanz's once perfectly cultivated yard. 

       "Uh, thanks for the warning," the braided-haired ex-pilot mumbled as he reached the motorcycle they were allowing him to have. Swiftly, he tossed a helmet over his head, hopped on the bike and started it up. With a roar, Duo found himself departing Elite Silver, and two of his friends who were enclosed behind the thick wooden doors.

       The teen knew exactly where to go thanks to Hotaru's hidden note. Duo only hoped that they would still be there by the time he arrived. He would have preferred trying to bust Heero and Hotaru out of that hellhole, but it was very likely he'd get caught, which would pronounce his death on the spot. 'I just hope you two will be okay.'

*~*~*~*

       The three ex-gundam pilots could not believe their eyes. The Gundams had been completely restored! It was almost like seeing an old friend after what had been years. The feeling rushing through the teens was indescribable.

       "You rebuilt the gundams but how?! We destroyed them back in AC 196 as well as the blue-prints," Quatre asked as he stared at Sandrock. 

       Trowa examined the craftsmanship of his Heavyarms Gundam. "They even look exactly the same," he added.

       "We should hope so. After all, we were once apprentices to the brilliant scientists which created them," the thin man with white hair said. 

       "Apprentices?" Wufei said, looking curiously at the five men. 

       A balding man with dark hair nodded. "Yes, you see, we also came from each of your colonies. For security measures if you will."

       "There was always a plan two for your missions back in AC 195 which is why we were sent to earth as well," the short pudgy man explained. 

       "And where might we ask is Firefly?" the tall bald man asked. 

       "She went after Heero and Duo. Iron Fist kidnapped them, but who are you?" the blonde teen answered still appearing confused.

       The five scientists began snickering to the ex-pilots' surprise. "So, the Perfect Weapon has finally met the Perfect Soldier. We were afraid that this might happen."

       "WHAT?!" the three teens exclaimed as they stared at the scientists. 

       "Allow me to explain, I am Dr. E." the white haired scientist said, "Hotaru's father used to work with Dr. J before a little lab accident occurred. Generally speaking, both the one called Heero Yuy and Hotaru Tomoe, were instructed in the same fashion and around the same exact time period. We just had to make sure that they would never meet."

       Quatre blinked at the startling news, "But they are both fine. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened to them."

       "They can feel emotions now."

*~*~*~*  

       Hotaru looked coolly at Stanz. 'What the hell is he talking about, the final piece to the puzzle... oh no.' Slowly, two guards, bound the girl's feet in shackles, as she glared at the Iron Fist leader. "This is interesting. First you try to kill me and now you're going to use me again."        

       "Foolish girl. We have been planning this with extreme caution for a long time. So long in fact, that those stupid Preventers couldn't even touch us. You my dear, were simply a pawn in a giant chess game and might I say, played your part perfectly. We speculated on your treason as well as the infiltration of Station Red. Even witnessing and being accused of the murder of Relena Peacecraft was set up. We even knew you would team up with the pilots." Stanz explained with a sneer on his face as Hotaru stared feeling herself growing ill. It was all a game. Cruel, sick game. "Your injection of the virus was set up as well. We had to test you by giving a dose, which would kill a normal healthy girl, and found we were correct. You are a lot stronger than we hoped. Heero Yuy has also undergone the same treatment, and he too should fully recover."

       The violet-eyed girl gritted her teeth as she glanced up at the dark-haired man. "I do not wish hear anymore of your bragging. Take me to see Heero NOW!" she shouted with an intense coldness to her eyes. 

       "I fear I cannot allow that just yet, but in a few hours, you shall see the boy," Stanz nodded gracefully, as he signaled for his two guards to take the girl away. 

       Quietly, Hotaru allowed herself to be led down the large hallway without even the slightest sign of resistance. 'I can't believe it. Damn them. They had me set up the entire time. Why didn't I realize this?! I played perfectly into the palm of their hands.' 

       Suddenly, they halted in front of a large steel door. The girl tried to keep her head held up high, but found it was nearly impossible. Regardless, she did so anyway. Hotaru could not let anyone know that they had actually defeated her. Everything felt so useless now. 

       "In here," one of the guards growled as he shoved Hotaru inside who nearly loses her balance as she stumbled to stop. 

       With a loud thud, she was sealed in her confinements. "Welcome home," the girl quietly murmured, taking a seat on the floor against the plain white wall. 

*~*~*~*

       "What do you mean, they feel emotions? What difference does it make anyway? The rest of us feel emotions and have fought fine," the Arabian said as he frowned at the five men. 

       "It is not that simple. We needed two superior beings to turn into the Perfect Soldier and in Hotaru's case, the Perfect Weapon. Both were trained around the same exact moments but in different parts of the building, never once meeting each other. Unfortunately, we lost Hotaru when her father had an accident in one of the labs, killing his wife in the process, and altering his personality gravely. A week later, he departed with the girl right behind him, during the most crucial aspects of the program so she was never fully complete," Dr. E acknowledged the three teens, which intently listened to the story. "Supposedly, whatever training techniques, Prof. T used on young Hotaru, caused the programming to change as well, resulting in her becoming almost like an override to Heero's own program."

       Trowa nodded. "That explains what happened earlier this morning," he quietly mentioned, reminding his friends of their incident when they were caught snooping on their two friends. Heero and Hotaru had actually laughed, an emotion neither of them had ever witnessed. 

       "Wait a minute. So you mean Tomoe was trained at the same location as Yuy, which would make her a colonist from L1. Why did you need a girl anyway?" the Chinese teen asked curiously. There were still several facts that were confusing him and this was one of them.

       The bald scientist them took the opportunity to speak. "We needed to have a back up plan in case you boys could not go through with your mission for any reason either it be refusal, or death, so we chose five girls as well. Unfortunately, as we lost Hotaru, the other four girls had disappeared as well." 

       "Who were they?" Quatre thoughtfully asked as he glanced up at the five new gundams, realizing that along the other wall five more were standing. 

       "Very special girls with skills similar to your own. Surprisingly however, we did get word that the L2 and L3 girls have been sighted and supposedly, are on the hunt for you six," Prof. F said as he brushed his red hair out of his face. 

       The green-eyed circus performer crossed his arms. "What about the other two? Have they been found? Are they looking for us as well?" 

      Stiffly, Dr. E shook his head. "The L4 and L5 girls have not been seen since. We speculate they may have been terminated back in AC 195 when you five were being hunted for your own executions."

       Just then, another guest greeted the group. "Hey! Sorry I took so long! Traffic was a bummer. Hope you left me some treats too!" Duo grinned as he walked inside the warehouse. 

       "Duo! You're alive! Where are Heero and Hotaru?!" Quatre cried out as he ran up to greet his friend. 

       Slowly the braided-haired teen dropped his head. "Hotaru gave herself up to save my life. Those sickos from Iron Fist had also used that virus on Heero, which made her even more determined to stay. Who knows what they are being put through now?"

       "Iron Fist has both of them?" Trowa said, looking a little shaky. 'I do not like the sound of this.'

       Duo tossed his arms behind his head as he glanced bitterly at the ceiling. "Yeah, I'm just surprised that they had actually kept their word to Hotaru and did not kill me. She even gave me her jacket, which is practically stocked with almost every kind of arsenal. I'm just kind of disappointed that she didn't have a rocket launcher hidden in one of her pockets! She has about everything else in here!"                     

       "They were probably planning on taking them both at the very beginning. Iron Fist is plotting something and I have a feeling that Heero and Hotaru have a major role in its success," the pilot with the long bangs contemplated. 

       Suddenly, the cobalt-blued-eyed teen's eyes grew wide as he stared at something with a huge grin on his face, dropping his arms abruptly to his sides. "Deathscythe Hell! You're back!"

       "Duo, meet the scientists who restored them. Um, scientists, this is Duo Maxwell from the L2 colony, pilot of the Deathscythe Hell Gundam," the blonde boy said making introductions. 

       The white haired man chuckled. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid we have been quite rude. I am Dr. E. The redheaded man is Prof. F, the short one is Master M, Prof. I is the completely bald one and the dark-haired balding one is George." 

       "I am Quatre Raberba Winner of colony L4 pilot of Sandrock, Trowa Barton is the Heavyarms pilot from colony L3, and Chang Wufei is Altron's pilot from L5," the Arabian smiled. Secretly he hoped that they could prevent whatever fiendish plans Iron Fist had up their sleeves, before they actually took place. 

       The four pilots looked hesitantly at each other, each contemplated whether the scientists' actions would be true or not. At least they could fight the mobile dolls whenever Iron Fist decided to release them. Right now, they had to wait or risk being arrested. 

       "We do have a mission for you four however," Dr. E said which caused the pilots to glance curiously at him.

       "Mission?! But we really need to break Heero and Hotaru out of Elite Silver right now!" Duo exclaimed. 'Oh great, we're back to this again. Where do they find them, the clearance section Scientists Unlimited that are priced so cheap you are almost being paid to take them off of their hands?!'

       Prof. F defiantly shook his head. "You must find and correct the L2 and L3 girls, first. You four will need all the help you can possibly get in order to save your two friends. We suspect the girls must be either under some sort of mind control, or were simply retrained. Once you have completed the mission, report back here with them, immediately. Trust us on this one."

       "But-" Quatre said before he was interrupted.

       The scientists shook their heads as they pointed to the door. "Go." 

       With deep sighs, the four gundam pilots left the warehouse. "Well, we're back to being puppets again. I knew I missed something," Duo grumbled under the night sky as they began heading out to the van. 'Where exactly are we going to find these girls? It's not like they're gonna pop out of no where!'

       Suddenly, the braided-haired teen felt his legs being swept out from under him. 

"Hey!" he shouted, landing roughly on his back. 

       "Sorry. Didn't mean to make you fall head over heels," a girl with waist length curls sneered as she pulled out a gun, aiming it at Duo's head as she clicked off the safety. "I guess this will have to do. Say goodbye." With the other hand she slyly blew a kiss, as if signaling that she was about to pull the trigger, while the braided-haired teen stared in shock.

       Just then, Wufei grabbed the burgundy-haired girl from behind, yanking her hands towards her chest, allowing Duo enough time to pick himself off the ground and grab the firearm from the girl's grasp. 

       "The weak should not play with guns," the Chinese teen said through clenched teeth, holding the girl firmly who slightly struggled, which he found rather strange until she struck. 

       The girl grinned, kicking Duo in the stomach with both feet, knocking the teen to the ground as he lost the gun in midair before quickly throwing all of her body weight forward, resulting in Wufei being tossed off her back, landing with a thud to the cement. "I wasn't playing with it, I was going to shoot with it."

       Trowa was just about to offer his assistance when he felt something make contact with his head. With a small grunt, he lurched forward, nearly falling to his hands and knees. Swiftly, however, the boy regained his composure in time to shove Quatre out of a speeding bullet's path as he recognized the weapon being pointed at his blonde friend. 

       "Ow!" the blonde yelled as he slid on the pavement. "Thanks Trowa," he softly said, flinching at the fresh scraps on the heels of the hands.

       The dark-green tinted, haired girl however froze, almost as if she were assessing the situation. "Four of them, two of us. Poetry seems to be handling those two well, although she did lose her gun. The blonde does not seem to be much of a threat although I have not seen him fight yet. The tall one however could prove to be of some difficulty.'

       "Key! Why the hell are you just standing there?! Shoot him!" Poetry shouted, as she threw a kick to Duo, who foolishly caught her leg. 

       "Ha! What are you going to do now? I have your leg and now you are defenseless to the almighty God of Death!" the cobalt blue-eyed teen grinned, until he noticed a glimmer in the girl's jade green eyes. 

       "How about this?" With a smirk on the girl's face she gracefully leapt up, nailing Duo perfectly in the head, limberly catching herself in a handstand as the boy crashed to the ground, wincing in pain. From her handstand, the burgundy-haired girl kicked an approaching Wufei, hard in the stomach before flipping herself up to her feet. "Key! Shoot him!" the girl cried out again, growing angry with her stupefied friend, who was actually forming a plan. 

       Unfortunately, Poetry had distracted Key long enough for Trowa to knock the gun out of the tall girl's grip, but not without a struggle as she threatened to break his arm, holding it roughly in a very awkward position. One false move, and the teen would have to become a lefty very fast.

       "Why do you want to kill us?" Quatre questioned the girls as he climbed to his feet, when only one thought came to mind. 'Could these two be the girls the scientists mentioned?'

       "You're wanted for murder, so we figured we'd give society a hand," Poetry shrugged as Wufei charged with a flying kick, which the girl promptly threw herself to the ground, completely missing the assault. 

       Key nodded her head, quickly throwing a punch to Trowa, which made contact with his jaw followed by a fake punch, and a sweep to his legs. Suddenly, Quatre tried attacking, successfully yanking the girl's legs out from under her. Sadly, she managed to knee him sharply in the stomach as she fell to the ground, promptly knocking the wind out of the boy who collapsed to the pavement once again.

       "We were framed! Besides do you really want to kill us or is it just because it's a mission?!" the Arabian managed to gasp out which result in both girls freezing, Key pinning Trowa to the ground at knife point, and Poetry sustaining her choke hold on Duo.

       "How did you know this was a mission?" Key asked as the boys sighed in relief, hoping that perhaps they could talk some sense into them before the two girls finished the guys off for good.

       Quatre shrugged. "Would you really take a human life on your own free will unless they sought to do you harm?"

       Poetry dropped her head in thought, "Good point," she murmured, looking apologetically at the four gundam pilots. 

       "Um, can you loosen your grip a bit then Poetry? Please?" Duo squeaked out from the chokehold the girl had him in. With a slight blush, she released him, carefully climbing to her feet as Key, put away her knife, quickly rolling off of the green-eyed boy.

      "Sorry," Poetry winced before turning her attention to the other pilots. "So did you or did you not kill Relena Peacecraft?"

       "Did not," Wufei simply said as he dusted himself off. "And neither did the Tomoe girl. She executed the real murderer."

       The burgundy-haired girl smirked. "Ha! I told you Trista! I knew the charges were false!"

       "Deidra, you idiot, you're supposed to use the code names we were given," Trista sighed, throwing her hand over her face in disbelief at her friend's little slip.

       Deidra flinched as she dropped her eyes down to the pavement. "Oops, um, well you said my name. Anyway, I thought Stanz was an asshole to begin with! Him and his major ego. Ugh, Mr. 'Aren't I so beautiful?' Give me a barf bag."

       "Wait, did you say Stanz?" Duo choked out, as he climbed to his feet, arching an eyebrow at the talkative girl.

       "Yeah, why?" the burgundy-haired girl inquired as the other pilots exchanged glances. 

       "He was behind the abduction of Heero Yuy and Hotaru Tomoe as well as the deaths of all the pacifist leaders including Relena Peacecraft," the aquamarine blue-eyed pilot answered as he rubbed his hands together, trying to remove the dirt from his scrapped up hands. 

       Trista blinked at the response. "Now everything makes sense. Stanz only ordered us to kill you four, but never mentioned the other two. With you four dead it would make rescuing Heero and Hotaru impossible. This whole scheme was well plotted with Poetry and myself used as pawns to eliminate Stanz's only threat." 

       The burgundy-haired girl nodded her head. "So now what we do? I kinda don't want to complete this mission anymore since they are innocent and everything. Not to mention we turned out to be the bad guys in this whole mess. Gee, that'll sound great on a resume," Deidra sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I could really give Stanz a piece of my mind right now, followed by blowing up his precious mansion. Pocketing some of the expensive stuff wouldn't be a bad idea either."          

       "Deidra, no," Trista said with a headshake. Sometimes, she had to admit, the girl was just a little too wild, but that was Deidra for you. 

       "But then we wouldn't have to eat anymore dry ramen!" the burgundy-haired girl pouted as the pilots looked a little shocked at what the two girls actually were forced to eat.

       The tall garnet-eyed girl shook her head again, "Deidra, that's what you eat, and I still don't understand how you can stand it raw."

       "Oh yeah," the shorter girl replied, looking a little embarrassed as she shrugged. "Well, it's crunchy and edible whether you believe it or not," she smiled sheepishly.

       "Uh, actually, we were given the mission to find two girls from the L2 and L3 colonies so are you two from either colony?" the American teenaged boy asked as the two girls looked blankly at him.

       Trista dropped her head lightly shaking it, "We cannot remember where we came from." 

*~*~*~*

       Quietly, Hotaru sat leaned against the wall, her thoughts were her only company. 'How did everything get bad so quickly? I was used once again without my being acknowledged of it. Why must you people hurt me when for the first time, I can actually feel alive?'

       Suddenly, the girl was jerked back to reality by a loud banging at the door, which promptly swung open, revealing two guards dragging in an unconscious Heero Yuy, whose own appearance was deathly pale. 

       Not even realizing it, Hotaru rose to her feet staring as they slid the boy on the bed, before shuffling out themselves. 

       "Hope you don't mind having a roommate, but hey, it's not like you exactly have a choice to begin with," one of the guards shouted over his shoulder with a chuckle before slamming the door shut behind him. 

       The dark-haired girl could not peel her eyes from the still form of the Perfect Soldier. He resembled death so well that it actually frightened her. 

       Carefully she walked up to him, taking tiny steps since her feet were still shackled. "Why did they have to make you experience the same damn thing I did? It's going to be hell when you awake Heero, but you'll pull through," she quietly said with a sigh. 

       Slowly, Hotaru dropped to her knees, leaning against the bed. 'So this is practically what I looked like when I had the virus. No wonder you kept an eye on me,' she thought while softly brush the boy's damp bangs from his face. The violet-eyed girl couldn't help but feel guilty. "I'm going to get you out of here. I promise," Hotaru quietly whispered, in Heero's ear before lightly kissing his forehead. 'Even if it kills me.'

*~*~*~*

       The four Gundam pilots glanced quizzically at the two girls. If they couldn't remember then perhaps they really are the two girls the scientists requested them to locate. Either way, since the two came from Iron Fist's headquarters, they could be very useful.   

       "Think we should take them to see our new, pains in the asses anyway?" Duo asked his three friends who considered the question.

       Nodding Trowa quietly said, "I believe they could be the two that we are looking for. Both seem to possess excellent combat skills which is quite unusual."

       "I agree. Wufei?" Quatre said as he turned to his Chinese friend who nodded as well. "All right, Trista, Deidra, we'd appreciate it if you could come with us. There are some people that would like to meet you two."

       The two girls exchanged glances, wondering what the four boys were up to, but concluded the pilots' intentions were probably correct. The tall dark greenish haired girl nodded as her friend grinned, "Okay, we'll complete your little mission. Just don't double cross us or we'll have to wipe the floor with you guys." 

       With a shrug the four pilots led the girls into the warehouse, which once again was pitch black.

       Rolling her jade green eyes the burgundy-haired girl flatly stated, "All right, you guys are truly sick. If you think luring us into a dark, abandoned warehouse, is going to give you the advantage, then I'm afraid you're wrong."

       Suddenly the lights flashed on, startling the teenagers with the immense brightness of the room.  

       "Blinding us won't do you any good either!" Deidra yelled feeling very annoyed at the fact that she was seeing spots. 

       "Ow, this really hurts," Duo groaned, blinking since he was not prepared for the suddenly light change either. 

       "I must commend you boys. You did excellent work in finding Deidra Robert and Trista Mays," Dr. E congratulated resulting in the two named girls to gape at the man.

       "How do you know who we are and why do you look so familiar?" Deidra asked, as she flipped a curly strand of hair from her face, staring in shock at the men.

*~*~*~*          

       Hotaru opened her eyes discovering that she was leaning on the bed that Heero still had not moved from. Her small-shackled hands were lightly holding his, which from the position she was sitting in, made her arms very sore. 'I must have fallen asleep,' she thought, picking her head up from the mattress, glancing dazedly at the teenaged boy who was still under the affects from the little 'experiment.' The dark-haired girl, could torture and kill those assholes about now. How dare they put a human being through this kind of treatment! It just made her sick. Especially since she could recall perfectly well, all the torment she had experienced.

       Quietly, she removed her hands from Heero's and glanced down at his face again. Remarkably, his color was slightly returning. Hotaru hoped that was a good sign.  

       Just then the girl heard the steel door slam shut. "Why did you subject Heero Yuy to this kind of torture when you do not even know who he is?" she evenly spoke, not daring to remove her eyes from the boy's face. She knew exact whom she was speaking to.

       Prof T chuckled, "My dear Firefly, I'm amazed at how much you have not learned yet. You see, we know the Yuy boy quite well, almost as well as we know you."

       "I don't understand," the violet-eyed girl softly said, as she turned her head to face the cruel scientist.

       "Does the name Odin Lowe Jr. ring any bells?" the white-haired man asked as the girl's eyes flashed with recognition.

       Nodding Hotaru answered, " I vaguely recall the name from my childhood, but other than that it's a mystery." Suddenly she paused, recalling the dream of her as a child, 'I walking down the hallway holding the hand of a man with white hair and glasses. I had never been in the hallway before and suddenly saw a young boy with dark hair and... Prussian blue eyes. It was him. I only saw him for a second but, it was Heero, or back then he was known as Odin Jr.' 

       Prof. T. began snickering when he noticed the girl's face practically fall as her memories resurfaced. "You and that boy are the keys to our success. All you need is a little reprogramming and everything will come together like clock work."

       Abruptly the girl rose to feet. "No. You are not going to subject us to anymore of your insane and callous experiments. That is enough!"

       "You forget Firefly, you have no control over what occurs. Try as you might but you are under our rule, and the same goes for the boy," the man sneered as the girl's eyes flared up with hatred.

       "Why the hell did you send me to kill the ex-Gundam pilots, especially Heero if you needed him so badly?! Why would... you knew the programming device was going to malfunction didn't you?!" Hotaru blurted out. 'Damn it! How many times was I used in this whole screwed up plan?!'

       "Smart girl. We predicted when the device would die as well as your treason. The only event we did not anticipate, was you and the Yuy boy falling in love. However it was quite a pleasant surprise because you actually came here willingly into my grasp." 

       The dark-haired girl briefly closed her eyes unable to comprehend the words that were spelling out in her head, "No," she whispered shaking her head. 'I set everyone up, including myself. How could I have been so stupid?! I was under their control the whole damn time without even knowing it.'

       "But yes. You my child have conveniently brought me everything I need to make this Operation a complete success." Prof T. smirked as he added the last sentence, which practically sent Hotaru into a mental breakdown. "By the way, I am your real father, and daddy knows what's best for his little girl." 

       Hotaru stared in horror at the man as he left the room, closing the door firmly behind him, not even realizing that his own daughter had collapsed onto the hard linoleum floor. 

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Yeah not as long as the previous chapter but it isn't so cliffhangery this time. Hotaru just fell asleep and we already know why the Scientists know of Deidra and Trista's names. 

Anyone confused over Deidra? She is my own created Sailor Senshi, Sailor Janus, The Senshi of Dimensions. She can open up dimensions to other worlds with her fans, and used to have a split personality. Deidra is also a very odd girl with a very sarcastic sense of humor and the ability to be quite cynical. However she is extremely intelligent... when she puts her mind to it. Her real name for SM is Deidera Doubre, (Um, flip the last and first)  "The Double Wanderer." But don't worry about that info. It's not going to be used in this story. You'll hopefully like her, if you don't already. I decided to bring her in here since a lot of people liked her in my dbz/sm fic b/c of her really out there sense of humor, so I figured why not throw her in here too!  

Just to remind everyone, this is an alternate reality for the Sailor Moon characters so no they won't have powers, unless it's combat skills. I do however, throw in a few references here and there every once and while. 

Oh, I am using the dub names for this but the last names will be changed. Why? Because the characters are not from Japan in this story. Only Hotaru is.               

And that is all for now. Thank you very much for the reviews. I enjoy reading them and now I'm going to sketch. ^_^

One puzzle is solved, another one appears....


	15. Past and Present

Shatter Reality Part 15

Past and Present

by

Sailor Janus

       Dr. E smiled at the perplexed looking burgundy-haired girl. "You my dear, were my pupil in colony L2 several years ago.

      Deidra blinked in amazement. 'Colony L2? That sounds familiar too. What is going on here?!' Grinning, the teenager began slowly backing up only to discover she was heading straight for a solid wall. "I know what this is. It's some sort of trap! You send four guys to come and fetch us and then it's gonna be a shower of bullets! You work for Iron Fist don't you! You-you're trying to test our loyalty...well, you got us! We're not worthy!" Deidra rambled as her back made contact with the wall. The other teens in the room only watched the girl, curious about what the scientists were planning.

      Chuckling, the white-haired man picked up an odd-shaped helmet with a visor attached. Quietly he walked towards Deidra who had a deer in headlights appearance. "Put this on and remember."

      "Um, that's not going to hurt her is it?" Quatre asked, feeling concern for the girl's well being. He had to admit, being used as a guinea pig didn't really appeal to him, and probably the others either. 

      "Certainly not. We only want to give the girls back what Iron Fist had stolen from them, their memories," Prof I simply spoke. 

      "Our memories?" Trista murmured, glancing at each of the five scientists in question. 'Is that what I'm missing in this life? Am I really more than just another soldier?'

      The burgundy-haired girl smirked, not knowing whether she could rely on these strange men or not. "How do we know we can trust you not to turn our brains into tapioca pudding instead?"

      "Iron Fist has erased some of your memories, but not completely. That instrument has the power to recover them," Prof I pronounced. "You will finally learn your true purpose, which will be to your full advantage."

      George nodded as he added, "You are among the elite and gifted, but first we must awaken your mind, or you will be of no use and your skills will become a complete waste."         

      Quizzically, Deidra examined the men's' faces, but found nothing sinister. Taking a deep breath she finally said, "Okay, I guess I'll give it a try but if anything goes wrong and I'm reduced to something no better than a radish, I give Trista permission to kill you on my behalf."

      Hesitantly, the girl accepted the strange helmet, and after a quick glance at her peers, she placed it over her head. Taking a deep breath Deidra brought the visor down as well, hiding her jade green eyes. "Okay, so now what?"

      "Patience my child," Dr E smiled pressing a few buttons in the back of the headpiece. "This will only erase the brainwashing they performed allowing your memories to resurface. It, however, will not restore everything; only what Iron Fist took away. Ready?" 

      Nervously, Deidra raised her eyes to meet the spectacled-man before searching for Trista and the pilots. Releasing a deep breath she had been holding, the girl nodded, "Okay, just remember to use the gentle cycle."

      Quickly, the scientist pressed the last button, allowing the teenaged girl to remember what had once been hidden deeply in the back of her mind. 

      A few minutes later, Deidra wished she had never agreed to be subjected to the device. 

      Abruptly, the girl tore off the helmet, shoving it into Dr. E's unprepared grasp, as she hastily began heading towards the door announcing over her shoulder, "I need some fresh air. I'll be back in a few."

      Puzzled, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, and Trista watched curly-haired girl, pull the door open, and depart, shutting it softly behind her.

      "What's wrong with her?!" Wufei exclaimed, raising an arching an eyebrow.

      Duo stared at the door for a split second when he too, began for the door of the warehouse. "Be right back," he carelessly mumbled, realizing how odd the situation may appear.

      "Did I miss something?" the Chinese teen asked as Quatre shook his head, watching their braided-haired friend leave as well.

      "Wufei, there's probably something very unpleasant about Deidra's past that she now remembers. Life was really difficult, especially for that colony," the blonde answered, gazing at the door, wondering what was so terrible to cause the girl to leave so suddenly?

*~*~*~*

      Duo was surprised to find the jade green-eyed girl leaning against the wall of the warehouse. He expected from the shock on her face, that she'd be in the next city by now, but no, there Deidra was, sitting on the ground, looking completely miserable.

      "Hey Deidra. There you are!" he called out, receiving an icy shoulder instead.

      "Leave me alone. I just need a moment to readjust myself then I can go back to being what everyone thinks I am. Damn it! Why did I let myself experience that all over again," the burgundy-haired girl growled, wrapping her arms around her bent knees, pulling them up to her chest.

      The cobalt blue-eyed teen held his hands out in surrender. "Okay! Geez! You know, you aren't the only one an unhappy history," Duo muttered throwing his back against the wall next to Deidra. " We all had pretty ugly pasts." Crossing his arms, the chestnut brown-haired pilot firmly completed his statement as he focused his gaze across the street. "L2 wasn't exactly a paradise. I should know."  

      "Oh really? Then how, may I ask, do you know?" Deidra bluntly asked, glaring at the boy from the corner of her eye. 

      Narrowing his gaze, Duo simply said, "That's where I'm from babe."

      The girl blinked as she glanced up at the braided-haired teen. "So I suppose you also saw people you cared very much about die, forcing you to become an orphan at such a young age, struggling to survive without dying yourself."

      "Wait, you're an orphan?!" the bewildered pilot exclaimed, staring at the jade green-eyed girl. "Sorry if I'm being nosy but you aren't the only one." 

      Deidra sighed, appearing very bored. "Don't tell me, you are an orphan too."

      Nodding his head Duo slumped down to the ground. "Yep, Orphan Duo extraordinaire. In fact, Duo Maxwell isn't even my real name. I made it up."

      Tiresomely, the burgundy-haired girl next to him bobbed her head up and down. "Deidra Robert isn't my real name either."

      "Wait. So you're an L2 orphan, your name is a fake... this is getting weird," the cobalt blue-eyed teen muttered as the girl raised an eyebrow.

      "What do you mean?" she inquired, tucking a strand of hair under the thin braid crowning her head as the boy frowned.

      "I'm pretty much the same. Care to share your past? I mean we seem to have a lot in common being from L2 and all so I'll probably understand where you're coming from. Life wasn't exactly easy there." Duo shrugged, hoping the girl would comply with his request. 

      Briefly Deidra smiled as she agreed. "Yeah, and hell would be an understatement." Taking a deep breath she began her life story. "I really can't remember much of my childhood, only the single memory which will haunt me forever. Witnessing the murder of my family."

      The L2 boy blinked, realizing that this was going to rather gruesome story that the jade green-eyed girl was about to share so he decided to relay a little of himself as well. "Yeah, they did a lot of that back then. Sorry you had to watch it happen though. I saw my best friend Solo die from a virus which plagued the colony. Later I witnessed the lives slip away from Father Maxwell and Sister Helen during the Maxwell Massacre. That's how I came up with my name."

      Understandingly, Deidra said, "I thought so. I was so young when my parents and older sister were executed. My mother tucked me away in the closet with her locket. She didn't have enough time to hide my sister when the Alliance came and killed them. I can remember the gunshots, and crying so vividly now. Funny, I have the ability to remember everything but my own name." Slowly she undid the clasp to the chain around her neck, handing the treasured necklace to Duo. "Mother's locket, gave me an identity."

      Accepting it, the boy carefully opened the battered piece of silver jewelry, which displaced an unidentifiable picture and an inscription. "To my sweet Deidra, Love always, Robert." Duo read before adding with a snicker, "You took your mother's name for your first and your father's for your last. Talk about sentimental!"  

      Snatching it back, the teenaged girl stuck her tongue out. "That's the pot calling the kettle black Mr. Duo Maxwell!"

      "So what happened next? I mean you were left orphaned, then what?" the chestnut brown-haired pilot inquired.

      Slightly faltering, Deidra stated,  "I began my seemingly life long career as a thief. First it was only enough to survive, mainly food, but one day a woman praised my skill and took me off the streets. In exchange for food, shelter, and clothing, she taught me how to become a cat burglar or professional thief if you will. Never once did I get caught, always one step ahead of them. No alarm systems, surveillance cameras, or anti-theft devices could stop me. It seemed I was invincible, until one day, I saw sent to steal plans from a lab. The lab of Prof. G and Dr. E. They caught me and oddly, instead of death, offered to teach me to become a pilot."

      "Sounds slightly familiar. I had to steal until Father Maxwell took me in. After the Massacre I was forced back to old habits again. Prof G found me stolen away. Rather than blow my brains out, he offered to teach me how to pilot a gundam... and suddenly I'm noticing a pattern. Damn kooky scientists!" Duo mumbled throwing a hand to his forehead. 'Why didn't anyone recognize this earlier?'

      The girl frowned, her jade green eyes slightly crinkling under the dim light cast off of the streetlamp. "What do you mean by a pattern? I don't understand what you are trying to say."

      Nodding, the chestnut brown-haired pilot smirked as he explained the new revelation. "The scientists for some reason seem to have matched us all up. Heero and Hotaru are from colony L1. Both were trained as professional assassins with very little emotion and are quite deadly as well as mission oriented. Trowa and Trista come from L3. Now I don't know too much about Trista, but she seems to be very quiet like Trowa."

      "Yeah, it's hard to get a word out of her sometimes. As far as missions or anything went I did most of the talking. Trista is very skilled at tactics and explosives though," Deidra agreed, taking a glance up to Duo. "So, what about us?"

      Grinning, Duo completed his detailed speculation. "You and I babe, are the L2 crew, who seem to talk a little more than we should an have witnessed the deaths of people who were important in our life and specialize in thievery."

      "And mask our emotions with humor," the girl softly said, which granted her a shocked look from the boy. "What? You thought I couldn't see it? I follow the same exact rules to the same exact game. There is too much turmoil to actually pass through life without a mask."

      "Wow, I can't believe how right I am! This is cool!" Duo gleamed as he climbed to his feet. Giggling, Deidra as well rose from the ground, dusting off the dirt on the seat of her pants. "What's so funny?"

      Brushing a curly strand of hair from her face, the burgundy-haired girl smirked as she strolled towards the door of the warehouse with her hands clasp behind her back in mock innocence. "You are. I do, however, believe you have a very valid idea. Let's go back inside."

      Whatever you say babe," Duo snickered folding his arms behind his head, following the girl close behind. "They probably miss us by now."

      Suddenly the girl paused in front of the door as she quickly spun around to face the Deathscythe Hell pilot who froze, staring into her face. "Duo, I want to say thank you for understanding my past and for not telling me everything will okay or to forget about it. I'm not very trusting because of my experiences in life but I do believe eventually, I could trust you. I really don't understand why I told you about my past but hell, you did the same." Deidra smiled lightly, her jade green eyes shining brightly. " We better go back in."

      The cobalt blue-eyed teen blinked, nodding at the girl, feeling at a complete loss for words. For once, there was someone who understood where he was coming from because she too had been in the hollows of hell. 'Damn, those scientists matched us up perfectly. I wonder what else we have in common,' he thought glancing at the girl's black hooded jacket with matching stretch pants and slippers. The only other color was a white shirt worn under the jacket. "Hey, mind if I ask what's with all the black?"

      Placing her hand on the doorknob, Deidra shrugged answering, "I was a cat burglar and black is the least reflective color. The clothing is kinda tight to prevent snagging which is basically like shooting yourself in the foot. Madam Marie was a ballet instructor turned thief who taught me how to be graceful and silent for stealth missions. The slippers are completely soundless."

      "Wait, you specialize in stealth?! That's my field!" Duo exclaimed, following the girl inside.

      "Yeah? Well, now you have to share!" the girl smirked as her eyes dangerously sparkled. "I suppose your choice in clothing has to do with your field of work as well."

      "Partly, I also have a priest's collar on under my turtleneck. I still don't understand how Heero can stand wearing a tank top in this weather!" Duo sighed with worried look. "Hope he and Hotaru are still alive. This is just so shitty."

      Deidra spun around until she was right next the braided-haired teen. Lightly she patted his shoulder reassuringly. "I'm pretty sure that Iron Fist has no means to kill them. They want them alive, for what? I don't know. Just think about it. Why would they have gone to all the trouble in grabbing Heero if they just wanted him dead? It doesn't make sense."

      "So you mean I was actually bait for Hotaru? Man I get all the sucky jobs!" Duo pouted when realization hit him. "Wait a second! Hotaru's father is Prof. T who is a part of Iron Fist. Prof. T used to work with Dr. J, which trained and warded Heero. Chances are Prof. T knew of Heero's skills and of course knew of Hotaru's-"

      "So several years later he meets a mastermind hungry for world domination. Together they send out Hotaru to kill you five but can't succeed because they don't want her eliminate Heero as well. Using her, they locate Heero," Deidra finished. "Damn, if they execute whatever they are planning for those two, it'll be game over for everyone."

      Exchanging glances, the L2 teens burst through the door. "Hey guys! We have some big news!" Duo cried out with the curly-haired trailing behind him.

      "Maxwell, can it wait? We're trying create a plan on how to get Yuy and Tomoe out of Iron Fist's weak hands," Wufei grumbled from his metal foldable chair.

      Quatre nodded, agreeing with the Chinese teen from his place at the crowded card table. "We speculate that because Prof T knew of Heero and now has both Heero and Hotaru, that they are probably the most important aspect in determining Iron Fist's success. The question is what?"

      "What was your big news?" Trowa inquired his friend who drew a long face as he pulled up a chair, sitting on it backwards.

      "Oh, nothing. I kinda forgot," the cobalt blue-eyed pilot grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest in disgust. 'Why does everyone have to steal my ideas?!'

      Deidra merely leaned against the wall behind her peers, tucking a loose strand of hair through the small braid crowning her head like a headband. This hairstyle was the only logical way to keep her curly hair from falling in her face. Well, most of it. One strand seemed to always fall in her face no matter what the girl did. Not to mention, it reminded her of Marie. 

      For a professional thief, Deidra had to admit, the woman was kind-hearted. She only stole because society was so malicious during that time period so the woman was practically starving, struggling earnestly to survive. Sadly, Marie was murdered days before her pupil was found by Prof G and Dr E.

      "We know that Heero and Hotaru are somewhere in Elite Silver. The question is if they are still there, where, and how heavily guarded is it?" Quatre said, as he counted their concerns off on his fingers.

      "Trista, do you suppose Iron Fist knows about your treason?" Trowa question the dark haired girl who glanced uneasily down at the front of her sapphire blue V-necked sweater teamed up with khaki pants and brown boots.

      Thoughtfully she replied, "I don't really know if we were spied upon or not."

      "Think you can get us in though?" the Chinese pilot inquired over the hot cup of tea in front of him.

      "That's my specialty!" Deidra grinned, joining the group. "I have never met one lock that could keep me out!"

      The three boys turned to look at the curly-haired girl as Trista confirmed, "It's true. Deidra is an expert in stealth measures. There are probably very few places which she cannot infiltrate."

      "Odd, because that is Duo's skill," Trowa said, glancing skeptically at his friends.

      "Deidra and I have already discussed it," Duo cut in, not wanting his revelation to be claimed by one of the others. "The scientists have matched us all to the point where we share the same if not similar personalities and characteristics as well as skills. Heero and Hotaru, Deidra and myself, and Trowa and Trista."

      The room suddenly fell silent. It made perfect sense. The boys were matched with the girls so the piloting skills would be similar if not exactly the same. 

      "Incredible. Why didn't we recognize this sooner?" the blonde gaped, amazed at the unveiled fact as the L2 boy gloated with pride over his discovery.

      "Trista, you specialize in tactics?" the green-eyed boy asked, curious whether his friend was indeed fully correct.

      "And explosives," the girl nodded, which actually caused Trowa to blink in surprise.

      "Very well done, Duo Maxwell," Dr E praised the teenager, accompanied by his four other colleagues. "We were hoping one of you would realize this important piece to the puzzle that is gundam."

      Deidra pushed off from the wall she was still leaning on, "But why did you choose similar personalities rather than different ones? Was it too difficult for you? And why us?" she questioned the men, raising a skeptical eyebrow as she spoke.

      Dr. E chuckled, removing his glasses from his face momentarily. "Little Deidra Robert. So full of wonder and never-ending questions. My how I missed you." 

      The burgundy-haired girl however rolled her eyes in annoyance, before smirking. It was the same look she gave Duo, threatening his life. Calmly, Deidra crossed her arms as she walked in the scientists' direction. "And Dr E, I'm so amazed to see your face again! What no party balloons or a nice big banner proclaiming, 'Welcome Home Gundam Pilots!' I think we were better off without you guys."

      Suddenly, Deidra felt someone grab her by the elbow. "Don't do anything you'd regret, babe. As much as I despise saying it, we need these five old guys. They may be our only ticket to save Heero and Hotaru as well as stop Iron Fist for good," Duo whispered in the girl's ear, slowly yanking her backwards.

      The L2 girl blinked before she giggled, blushing slightly at the old men. "Uh, just kidding? Uh heh, having a bad day I guess. I mean the tape player in Trista's car ate my favorite Fyre Spell tape, the zipper on my backpack broke, I had to talk to Mister Ego, and so uh, how about those questions?!" she babbled, twisting a lock of hair around her finger nervously.

      'Brilliant Deidra. First you threaten them and now you bore them death with your mindless babble,' Trista thought with a silent sigh. Sometimes allowing the quirky girl to do all the talking had its major drawbacks. The fact that Deidra had the habit of putting her foot in her mouth quite often was one of them.

      "Need help with the other foot, Deidra?" the chestnut brown-haired pilot snickered, earning him a dirty look and a sharp elbow to his chest. "Ow!"

      Clearing his throat, Prof. F silenced the assembly of teenagers as he explained the answer to the L2 girl's question. "Originally we only planned on using five boys, but quickly, speculation of possible rebellion or even assassination of the original five, gave us worry of the mission, which must be set out or all would be lost."

      "Of course, instead of actually having to search, the girls just appeared," Master M spoke with a small smirk.

      George nodded as he ran a hand through his thinning dark hair. "In Hotaru Tomoe's case, Dr. J had already plotted to train a girl from the very beginning. Basically as an experiment, involving Heero Yuy as well, granted by Prof T, Hotaru's biological father."

      "A few months after Prof G had found Duo, a very spunky young Deidra practically landed in our laps, marking her as the next pilot," Dr. E recalled, snickering at his student.

      "I fell through a ceiling panel and landed at their feet," the burgundy-haired girl whispered sheepishly, lightly flushing.

      Nodding Prof I said, "We acquired Trista when she was seeking shelter from a storm."

      "The L4 girl was the daughter of a rich ambassador whose parents were killed in a car accident. She wanted to fight for peace anyway she could," the red head scientist proudly said.

      Master M nodded as he spoke of his own pupil. "The L5 child's home was taken under siege. She wanted to fight for truth and humanity, all of which she believed were lost in a very confused society."

      "Unfortunately both of the missing girls' names have slipped our minds. We speculate that they have been executed in AC 195," Prof F sighed, feeling some swore for the angelic girl he had lost.

      Everyone fell into an abrupt silence over the loss of the girls from colonies L4 and L5. Quatre and Wufei each questioned themselves what the girl from their respective home would have been like, especially since their friends got along with their own counterparts. Such a sad fate for the two fighters who barely had a chance to begin their destinies.

      "Originally, there was only one Gundam per colony. Before the five boys were sent to earth, we had descended with enough gundanium alloy to create two gundams if the originals were destroyed. At that moment, we decided to create Gundams for the girl's as well, in hopes that perhaps with the extra help, there would be no chance at failure with completing your missions," Dr. E clearly spoke, as the teens silently listened. "However, something went gravely wrong and the girls began to slowly disappear."

      "Truthfully, none of you were selected, it was all left up to chance or fate if you will," Prof I stated, rubbing his baldhead.

      "Fate sure does have a twisted sense of humor," Duo muttered under his breath with a scowl on his face as Deidra silently nodded next to him. She didn't feel like putting any more feet in her mouth. 

      Master M held one finger out to prove a point, "You were all given choices which you could have refuse."

      "But what about Heero and Hotaru? Why did you have to subject them to become what they are today? It's horrible!" Quatre brought up with a shocking spark of fire in his eyes.

      "What Dr J and Prof T did was their own business. We were finally notified of their experimentations in AC 195 after Oz had captured the head scientists. No one had any say in what happened in L1 or any other colony, only their own," George firmly explained in hopes that any animosity the pilots held would eventually fade.

      The teenagers nodded, accepting what was said as the truth. The four boys understood more of what was going on than did Deidra and Trista could muster, since the two girls never met Heero or Hotaru. However, they did have a vague clue as to what everyone meant.

      "Now what are we supposed to do?" the garnet-eyed girl softly asked. She never would have guessed that this would be the night her past and true mission would be unveiled. 

      "You must concoct your own plans of strategy. However, you may not use the Gundams until after Stanz unleashes his own or the consequences may be dire," Prof I sternly said to the pilots.

      Nodded Trowa agreed, "It would be like announcing we are here, meaning a jail or death sentence for us."

      "Do you have any suggestions for us? We have after all, been framed for murder," the blonde asked with a glint of hope in his aquamarine eyes.

      "As a matter of a fact, we do," Dr E said as he gestured for the six teens to follow him as he strolled up to the door leading out of the building. Quietly, the elderly man twisted the handle, and pushed the door open. "Don't get caught."

      The pilots stared at the man completely stunned. Were they actually throwing them out?!

      "Good night gentlemen, ladies. You know where to reach us now," he concluded as the teenagers slowly left through the door, closing it firmly in Duo's gaping face.

      "I don't believe it! They kicked us out!" the cobalt blue-eyed boy stammered.

      Deidra scoffed as she turned her back to the door. "Yep, with the appropriate boot mark stamped on each one of our asses. Might as well have yanked us out by our ears."

      "Yeah, that's right up there with 'Have a nice life, don't die! Nudge, nudge, wink, wink," Duo coincided adding his own perception to the rude dismissal.

      "So," Quatre interjected after recovering from his own initial shock. "What do we do now? We are wanted criminals, and still need to devise a strategy as to how to save Heero and Hotaru as well as stop Iron First permanently."

      "Finding a safe place to stay would be ideal," Trowa softly said, glancing around the dark, vacant street in front of the warehouse.

      "True but where can we go Barton? Maxwell and Yuy's as well as my own apartments have probably been taken under siege. Showing our faces there would be the most foolish course of action possible," Wufei said with a disgusted look on his face.

      Deidra frowned as she glanced at her taller friend. "Hey Trista, what about our place? I mean it'll be a tight fit but there's the couch and plenty of floor space, on your side that is. I'm sure we could make work."

      "That's very kind of you Deidra, but wouldn't it be a little risky?" Quatre smiled as the girl he was regarding shrugged at the question.

      Speaking up, Trista assured the boys of their safety. "Actually, Iron Fist as no idea about where we live. That information remained confidential." 

      The Altron pilot crossed his arms in thought, staring intensely at the ground before asking, "Are you certain that no one from Iron Fist know where you two reside?"

      "Yep! They believe we live at this special Iron Fist condo called Golden Condominiums, but we hated there, so we secretly moved. In fact, our mail still arrives at that hell hole!" the curly-haired girl explained as her roommate nodded. "Plus, we are in just as much danger as you guys. Especially, if those jerks discover our betrayal."  

      The four boys stood and contemplated, the girls' offer, when Duo decided to speak his mind. "Basically, my opinion is, what have we to lose? Any place we go could be a huge risk so why not stay with these two pretty ladies and be done with it?" Placing his hands behind his head in a causal fashion the teen added, "Besides, that will give us time to fill them in as well as plot how to get Heero and Hotaru out of Iron Fist's grubby hands before something really bad happens!"

     The other three pilots exchanged glances before deciding that their American friend had a good point.

      "All right, if it isn't any trouble to you two," Trowa finally said with a head nod.

      Trista almost smiled as she replied, "No problem at all. We are more than happy to offer you four shelter."

      Deidra almost giggled at the slight amount of emotion radiating off of her friend as she agreed, "Yep! After all, we are on the same team. Our home is your home."

*~*~*~*

       Blurrily, Hotaru cracked open one eye, feeling as though her head were spinning. She was still lying on the cold linoleum floor, and couldn't seem to find the energy to pick herself up.

       Blinking, she laid still. Everything felt so unsettling, her father being Prof. T was the main one. What happened to the father she remembered from her childhood? Groaning, the dark-haired girl made a fist with her hand, but found discovered her movements were oddly sluggish.

       'Damn it. They must... have drugged me or... something. Heero... probably isn't... awake yet. It's... too early... Takes twelve... hours,' Hotaru incoherently thought, trying with her might to lift herself off of the ground. 

       Instead, out of the corner of a violet eye, she saw her father enter with several guards. 'Please... not Heero. He's... not... well yet,' she urgently thought, recalling how long it took herself to fully recover. Hotaru couldn't seem to understand anything that her psychotic father or the guards were saying. 

       Briefly, she watched them check on the Perfect Soldier. Fortunately, no one seemed to have injected him with anything. 

       Suddenly, the girl could feel her limp body being lifted and suddenly, everything went black.

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Ack! I am so sorry this is so late but vacation will do that to you not to mention the computer I was using was not compatible with my word program. Then were the joys of jet lag (red eye flights suck) and finally my sprained wrist.   

Anyway, this chapter had to be chopped up a bit and previously was going to end in a whole different way, but it turned out, what I thought was one chapter was long enough to be two or three chapters! 

Chapter 16 will be quite memorable, especially at the end of it. Yeah It's gonna be a cliff hanger, but it'll be cool. 

Sad to say, or maybe not, the end is still in the distance. I'm speculating this'll be at least 25 chapters if not more! O.O;;

Oh, I am planning on editing the story too! I had to reread some parts and noticed a lot of mistakes. 

That's it for now! ^_^


	16. Mission L1

Shattered Reality Part 16

Mission L1

by

Sailor Janus

*Special Note: I switched Lita for Trista. Sorry, for the confusion, but I just realized that Setsuna aka Trista is much more similar to everyone's favorite L3 pilot. Again, I am using the dubbed names only because Hotaru is the only one of Japanese descent.*

*~*~*~*

       It only took about an hour of traveling but the boys found themselves parking their van in the small visitor's parking lot of the two girls' apartment complex. 

       Secretly each of them were debating whether the two could be trusted but soon found that question null. Trista and Deidra were both one of them. Like Hotaru, they were controlled by Iron Fist, but it wasn't nearly as strong. Apparently Stanz and Prof T found the L2 and L3 girls nothing more than two throw away assassins.

       As Quatre and Duo, who decided to ditch the motorcycle in a grocery store parking lot in case there was a tracer on anything worse hidden on the bike, climbed out of the back, they were greeted by a cheerful Deidra.

       "Hi and welcome to our humble abode," she gracefully said while fighting her hair which was being controlled by a particularly strong breeze, from blow in her face. With a defeated sigh, she gave up as Trowa and Wufei joined the small group. "Please follow me. Trista is cleaning the place up a bit."

       Quickly, the boys gathered the bags which they salvaged from the mansion, including Heero's and Hotaru's as they eyed the girl carefully. Deidra could feel the hesitation and gave a small smile. "Don't worry, this isn't a trap or anything. We are both completely sincere, and personally, I prefer working with you guys than that arrogant weasel, Stanz who is just too beautiful for his own good. Ha! Yeah right. He's probably had a little plastic done if you know what I mean," the girl snickered, as she grabbed two bags from the pilots and led the way to her apartment. 

       In a matter of minutes, the pilots found themselves in a quaint little two bedroom apartment on the third floor. Surprisingly, the place was immaculate, complete with off white walls, and a gray carpet. The furniture, was not of the best quality, but appeared to be comfortable, namely an old sofa and two chairs were placed in the living along with a small wooden coffee table, and end table which a small screened TV sat. The kitchen was a dusky blue shade, which seemed to go well with the surrounding carpet. Needless to say, the girls seemed to be doing alright as far as living conditions went.

       "Let me give you the tour," Deidra grinned, laying the two bags she was carrying in a corner. "Kitchen to your left, living room to your right. Then to the left is the bathroom, Trista's room, and mine is across from hers, and that concludes our tour!"

       "This is a very nice place you have here, Miss Trista, Miss Deidra. Thank you for allowing us to be your guests. We greatly appreciate it," Quatre smiled politely, giving his thanks to the two hostesses.

       Blinking Duo grinned as he said, "Uh, what Quatre just said. Thanks."

       Trowa and Wufei each nodded their agreement, too worn out from the day to offer anything beneficial.

       "Thank you," Trista said, leaning over the spotless kitchen counter as she curiously watching them. "It's small but works nicely." 

       "Not to mention we don't have to put up with Iron Fist's cronies making passes at us," the burgundy-haired girl dryly stated as she perched herself on top of the small dining table. "Although it was fun sending that one bastard, Eddan, I believe was his name, flying over our balcony."

       The four boys stared at the jade green-eyed girl with stunned expression on their faces, almost dropping the bags on their toes. How could he have survived?!

       Realizing her shocked audience, Deidra added, "Unfortunately we were only on the first floor so that grade A idiot didn't die." 

       "Well, he's dead now, thanks to Hotaru and one of his buddies who shot him through the chest," Duo reported, surprising both girls. 

       "Really?! Finally that jerk got what he deserved!" Deidra happily exclaimed before appearing a little uncomfortable. "I-I mean, I'm not happy that Eddan died but deserves something bad after spying on me in the shower! That pervert broke into our place and my bathroom then proceeded to seduce me! So I did the only logical thing I could do unarmed. I wrapped a towel around myself, beat the crap out of him before throwing that sicko over my balcony!" she explained, fire burning deeply in her jade green eyes. "Of course that slimeball had the audacity to tell everyone that I was easy so every hormonal guy started hassling me!" 

       The dark greenish-haired girl nodded as she said, "That is the reason we had to pack up and go. I recall several times trying to stop her from going after Eddan Uzak. If Deidra touched him again, he was going to report her which meant either jail or death. So we packed up and moved without saying a single word."

        Silently the curly-haired girl slid off the table, soundlessly landing on her feet. "Anyone hungry? Trista is a great cook and uh, I need more practice unless of course anyone wants some dry ramen?"

       "Are you sure you don't mind, Trista?" Trowa addressed the girl who blinked at his question.

       "I don't mind cooking. Deidra and I haven't eaten since this morning to be exact," she replied quickly. "Um, what do you guys like? I believe the quickest would be vegetable stir fry unless you'd rather have soup."

       "Whatever you feel like cooking Trista. I believe we all agree in not carrying what it is," the Arabian answered, as he and the other stacked up their luggage in a small vacant corner of the room.

       Wufei snort as he quipped, "As long as it's not dry ramen." This granted him a scoff from the L2 girl who retreated into the kitchen, declaring she was going to pass out and die due to starvation if she didn't eat soon. It had been almost ten hours since her last meal. 

       "Whatever you say, Wuffy!" Deidra threw over her shoulder with a smirk. This said, aggravated the hot-headed Chinese teen.

       "It's WUFEI! Stupid weak little girl," the Altron pilot shouted as he glared at the snickering teenaged girl who he knew, was going to be quite annoying. Especially since she was matched to resembled the braided-idiot himself. What brilliant luck the Chinese pilot had. Two for the price of one.

       With a shrug, the ex-cat burglary, scooted off to a random cupboard, pulling out a bag of ramen as Duo curiously watched. "So how do you actually eat dry ramen?" 

       Spinning around, Deidra nearly dropped the bowl that was now in her hand, amazed at the question. Blinking, she inquired, "You want to know how to eat dry ramen?" 

       "Maxwell, don't encourage her," Wufei muttered from where he was leaning against the wall adjacent to the kitchen.

       The braided-haired teen nodded, ignoring his comrade. Sure it sounded odd, but maybe it was good.

       With a giggle the girl obliged. "It's really simple! First you take a bag of ramen, break the dry noodles in the still sealed bag up into chunks. Then you open the bag, dump into a bowl, remove the seasoning packet, sprinkle it on the noodles and eat as is," she explained demonstrating at the same moment.

       Quatre frowned, staring at the strange snack from his place at the kitchen table where he was trying to a plan a strategy. The others all agreed he'd be the best at the job so the blonde obliged to the task. "Um, isn't that a little... crunchy?"

       "That's the point! Anyone want to try some?" Deidra offered, holding out the bowl.

       "Pass," the ebony-haired teen abruptly said, moving himself to the sofa in a huff.

       The blonde pleasantly smiled as he said, "No, thank you Miss Deidra. It was very kind of you to offer though."

       The L3 teens both shook their heads from inside the small kitchen. Trowa was busy helping Trista with the vegetables as she mixed up some sort of sauce to add to the fish. The garnet-eyed girl was pleasantly surprised when the Heavyarms pilot offered his aid.

       Deidra appeared a little disappointed that no one wanted to sample her treat. With a sigh, she asked the cobalt blue-eyed pilot who was busy drumming on the table, annoying the hell out of the onyx-eyed teen. "Duo?"

       Hesitantly the boy paused and looked at the bowl then shrugged as he answered, "Sure. Why not?" To the amazement of everyone in the room, Duo grabbed a piece and popped it into his mouth.

       After a few seconds of munching, his response was the most shocking. "Mmmm! Not bad! Nice and crunchy too! Can I have more?"

       Stunned, the burgundy-haired girl, blinked, as she handed him the bowl. "Sure!" she grinned, snapping out of her previous stupor as the others stared in shock at the L2 teens.

       "They definitely did a personality match with those two. Here I thought a female Duo would be impossible," a very surprised Wufei said as his two other friends nodded.

       "You have seen nothing yet," Trista said with a sigh. She knew perfectly well how much trouble the smaller girl could be. 

*~*~*~*

       After dinner, which the four boys swore was the best meal they had ever had, the pilots found themselves gathered around the dining table discussing plans on how to infiltrate Elite Silver. 

       "Okay, so far we know their security is heavier at night which means going during the day, early morning preferably may be our best plan of strategy," Quatre explained as they stared at the hand drawn map provided by Trista. "Unfortunately, there are only three of us who have even the slightest idea of what it looks like. Duo, Deidra, and Trista."

       Nodding the burgundy-haired girl added, "Right, but none of us really had that good of a look at the joint."

       "You do have a clue as to where Yuy and Tomoe may be held, correct?" the Altron pilot questioned the former cat burglar who nodded in response.

       "So far, it seems you and Duo maybe the only two skilled and knowledgeable enough to get in and out without being caught or lost," Trowa stated as he analyzed their situation carefully. "That means you two should go together through route A."

       "US?!" Duo and Deidra exclaimed simultaneously as they gaped at the taller teen. Even more surprising to them was the fact that Quatre nodded his head in agreement.

       Trista was a little stunned at the look on the L2 teens' faces so she reminded them, "You both are highly expertise in stealth. This should come very naturally to you two."

       "Oh yeah... blame the fact that I am totally exhausted," the burgundy-haired girl mumbled. It had been a long and confusing day which she was still struggling to take in.

       "Uh, I plead drugged by Iron Fist's happy crew. They sure love making their prisoners incoherent," Duo drawled, tossing his arms behind his head.

       "Be glad they didn't do worse. Prof. T. has an obsession with experimenting on humans," Deidra carefully said, making sure everyone accepted the words she said clearly.

       The Arabian pilot smiled sadly, "We already know about that. Hotaru and Heero both have been infected and by some deadly virus and then cured. I only wish we knew why they subjected them to that much torment."      

       "Perhaps to strengthen their immune system, but that still doesn't explain too much," the tall teenaged girl thoughtfully said as she bowed her head in respect as everyone sat still in complete silence.

       "Winner, what about the rest of us?" Wufei asked, breaking the abrupt the unsettling soundlessness of his friends. The two L1 teens weren't dead yet. They couldn't be, which meant there was still time.

       Glancing at his Chinese friend, Quatre began initiating teams again. "Trowa and Trista both specialize in tactics, so they shall take route B. Leaving Wufei and myself to go undercover through route C. Trista, you said you had extra Iron Fist uniforms right?"

       "Yes, we have both the male and female versions thanks to Deidra for stealing Eddan's laundry during our last day at Golden Condominium," the garnet-eyed girl nodded with a glare to her friend.

       Raising her eyes innocently Deidra chirped, "What?! He deserved it!" Pouting, the girl crossed her arms, leaning further back in her seat on the two back legs of her chair. Surprisingly, she did not tip over. Apparently, the L2 girl had a great sense of balance.

       "How many sets do you have?" the Sandrock pilot asked, hoping there was enough as he carefully, began marking positions on the map.

       "Three sets," Trista answered, flicking her dark green hair over her shoulder, inspecting their leader's handiwork.

       Nodding, Quatre began scribbling something down on paper, "Perfect. That's one for Trowa, Wufei, and myself."

       "Wait... what about me?!" Duo, who was playing with the straw in his drink proclaimed, appearing very confused.

       "Duo, you and Deidra are doing stealth which means you won't need a uniform," the blonde reminded his friend. 

       The jade green-eyed girl smirked, sarcastically clapping her hands together. "Yay! Basic black, my favorite!" Quietly she dropped her hands to the table, as she added, "Seriously, I prefer that much more than those stuffy uniforms! They're just too damn stiff... and now I am shutting up."

       "So we all agree on our individual missions?" the aquamarine blue-eyed teen asked as everyone nodded. "Good, then we better get some sleep because we need to set out early tomorrow morning. This is one mission we have to succeed."

*~*~*~*       

       It was before dawn when the six teenagers left for Elite Silver to begin their mission. The fact that the sun wasn't even up didn't bother the group since they all had difficulty sleeping. 

       Highly alert, they climbed into the van, driving in silence for the entire two hour trip. Each knew what their role was and were highly aware of the danger they would soon face, but needless to say, they had no choice. The goal was to rescue Heero Yuy and Hotaru Tomoe. From there they could plot how to destroy Iron Fist, but at this moment, too much was at stake.

*~*~*~*

       Taking a deep breath, Deidra glared at the building as she twisted her long curly hair into something resembling a French twist, securing it towards the top of her head. She had to make sure her hair didn't become a nuisance. If she had to sneak through an infrared system, the girl's hair could likely set it off, triggering the alarm. Deidra couldn't bear to take that chance.

       Lowering her sunglasses, the burgundy-haired girl signaled for Duo to follow as she crept towards the large mansion, hidden by the confinements of the foliage.

       The braided-haired teen gulped, staring wide-eyed at Elite Silver, standing so proud that it seemed menacing. If it were not for the fact he barely escaped the joint alive thanks to Hotaru, Duo wouldn't give their capabilities a second thought. Not to mention both Heero and Hotaru's lives were on the line. If the L1 teens didn't make it out alive, then he would never forgive himself.

       Deidra could sense that the cobalt blue-eyed boy was on edged and he had no reason not to be. Absentmindedly the girl clutched her locket as they nodded at each other. Soon it will be time. 

*~*~*~*

       Trowa quietly adjusted the gray and navy blue Iron Fist uniform as Trista carefully estimated the distance on her compass watch from where they were hidden to the mansion. So far, everything was going as planned.

       The two L3 teens calmly exchanged glances, both realizing how quickly this mission was about to begin.

       The girl understood the danger as well as Trowa did if not more. They were all taking a huge risk being there. The teens could only hope for the plan to be successful, anything was to be disregarded.

       Silently, they waited.

*~*~*~*

       Quatre felt the tension scouring through his body at such a level that he shivered. The next few minutes were so crucial, that he didn't know if he could actually go through with it. The Arabian however knew as so as time came, he would follow through with his task.

       Frowning, Wufei shook his head at the blonde, eyeing the front door to Elite Silver anxiously. In another minute, the mission would begin, but would the outcome really be what they expected it to be?

       Finally, it was time. The two teen exchanged glances as Quatre pressed a button on his watch, signaling that he and Wufei were moving in.

       Slowly the Arabian and Chinese teens ambled out of the bushes they were hiding in. With heads held high and full of self-confidence they approached the large building.

*~*~*~*

       "This is it babe. Let's just not get caught," Duo grinned sliding his black cap further down, so his face was half-way masked.

       With a small smirk, Deidra replied as she pulled the hood of her jacket over her head, "Right, because that'd be a really bad thing."  

       Soundlessly, the two black clad teens crept through the yard towards the back of the building.

       Holding their breaths, they carefully listened for any noise that would indicate their discovery, but fortunately not a sound passed through the air. 

       Releasing sighs of relief, Duo stood aside as Deidra stalked up to the door and punched in a code on the keypad.

       A flashing green light signaled they were free to access the building. Wordlessly the teenagers walked in.

*~*~*~*

       Trista bit her lip as she and Trowa inched their way towards the building. They already witnessed the L2 teenagers successfully enter Elite Silver from the back. At the same moment, Quatre and Wufei should have been granted admission in the front, leaving the L3 pilots to attempt to the side. 

       Luckily, they blended into the sea of gray and navy blue uniforms without suspicion, coolly walking among the crowds of cadets, lieutenants, and guards. 

       Silently Trista found the side entrance with Trowa cautiously following from behind, monitoring the prospect of danger closely. 

       With an incredible amount of ease, the two teenagers slipped through the side entrance without any problems. 

       'Okay, now for the hard part,' the boy thought, carefully glancing around the room.

       Elite Silver was broken up into three floors. Deidra and Duo from the back entrance were to take the upper level. Quatre and Wufei had to check the second floor by entering through the front leaving Trista and Trowa with the first floor. 

       Tapping the tall boy on the shoulder, the dark green-haired girl indicated she wanted him to follow her, as they quietly snuck down the long hallway.       

*~*~*~*

       Aimlessly, Wufei and Quatre strolled down the hallway, in search for the stairs, catching sight of the L3 teens briefly in passing, greeting each other quick, wordless glances. They knew chance of crossing paths with Deidra and Duo was very unlikely since the two had go about their own mission in a completely different form than the other four teens did.          

       With a single turn around an empty corner, the two pilots finally found the stairs which would lead them to the second level. 

       One simple, inspection later and the blonde and black-haired teens climbed up the steps, fully alert to any sound which may predict danger.

*~*~*~*

       Duo coolly trailed after the burgundy-haired girl who seemed to know where she was headed. Oddly, Deidra still had her sunglasses on, but the cobalt blue-eyed pilot decided to disregard the fact, continuing silently through the air duct. 

       Just then, the former cat burglar stuck out her arm to halt the boy in order to prevent him from crashing into her. 

       Carefully, the girl, inspected, the room they were facing. 'Perfect. An infrared alarm system. Just what I felt like doing today, being Contortionist.' Slowly, she brought out a little machine which reported no other dangers in sight.

       Realizing she was actually going to have to talk to Duo who was behind her, but didn't exactly have enough room to turn around, since the sides were so narrow that the girl had to figure out another way. With a sigh, she decided her best move would be to lean back, and whisper her plans. 

       After removing the sunglasses from her face, the jade green-eyed teenager slowly bent her neck, while angling her body backwards. Fortunately Deidra barely escaped from slamming her face into the low ceiling as she practically did a backbend to the braided-haired pilot's shock. 

       "Duo, stay here," the girl whispered, feeling all the blood rushing to her head as she found her face surprisingly a mere few inches away from the boy's own handsome face. 

       Swallowing thickly, Duo found listening to the burgundy-haired teen's words slightly difficult, when her mouth was a few inches from his own. "Huh? What are you planning babe?" he managed to say.

       Feeling the Deathscythe Hell's hot breath brush against her face, the girl blinked, frozen in her position until she was able to shake herself out of her stupor. "There is a heat sensor infrared alarm system on this floor. I'm going to go through it and flip the off switch."

       "But isn't that a little tricky?! What if you set it off?" Duo quietly said, worried for the girl's well-being. 

       Smirking she slightly nodded, "Yeah, it's gonna be fairly challenging but that's the fun part! Anyway, I have not met one alarm system that could stop me." With a small wink she finished her explanation. "Stay there. I'm going in. " Nimbly, Deidra pulled herself upright, and carefully, approached the vent in front of her, soundlessly, removing the screws and carefully, pulled the grate off. 

       Placing her sunglasses back on her face, the burgundy-haired girl, angled herself through an invisible bar, landing in a firm handstand as Duo watched, realizing why she was wearing the shades in the first place. They enable the wearer to see infrared.

       Taking a deep breath, Deidra bent her knees towards her chest as she held her hands steady on the ground, swinging her lower body downward so her knees hovered between her hands. The girl tried to ignore the beams around her, as she planted her feet solidly on the floor, standing in a crouching position.   

       'How the hell did she do that?!' Duo thought, gaping wide-eyed at Deidra who 

appeared to be planning her next move.

       'Great. Looks like this will be harder than I thought,' the burgundy-haired girl sighed. 'However for an alarm system to be this tricky, you have to be hiding something good, and I'm going to find it.'

*~*~*~*

       The corridors of the east wing of Elite Silver were very long and extensive, bathed only in white. There was only one thought that came to mind when traveling down this wing. They were headed straight towards the laboratories. 

       This however, was not necessarily a good sign. If anyone were to catch the two trespassers, they could be yanked in one of the rooms, and given the newest experiment no questions asked.

       Suddenly, Trista, caught site of Prof. T and a few guards surrounding the mad scientist. Quickly, she pulled Trowa, into a corner against her, hoping to appear as if they were just looking for a secluded area to make out. 

       The two teens leaned against each other, as the white-haired man began to pass by when to their horror, he froze in front of them. 

       "You two are not permitted here. This is a highly restrictive area," Prof. T. sternly said as the L3 teens bowed their heads to the ground to appear as though embarrassed, while secretly hiding their faces. 

       "We apologize Sir. It will not happen again," Trowa quietly whispered as Trista nodded in agreement.

       Chuckling, Pro. T. said, "Very well, then. I do not want to see either of you here ever again or consequences will be grave." Slowly he began walking again, pausing once more to say, "I was young once too."

       "Thanks," The light brown-haired boy whispered to the girl after Prof T. finally disappeared around the corner. 

       "Don't mention it," Trista quietly replied, as she checked to make sure the coast was clear before traveling further down the hallway. "That was Prof T by the way."

       Silently, Trowa nodded, deciding that much. The only question was, were they on their way to retrieve Heero and/or Hotaru or had they just sent them back to either the lab or their confinements? 

       Sooner or later, someone would find out.

*~*~*~*

       Hesitantly, Quatre paused at the top of the stairs, monitoring their soon to be new environment. 

       Releasing the breath he had been holding, the blonde, climbed the rest of the way up, stopping momentarily to wait for his partner. 

       Pleasantly, the area appeared to be deserted. This could either be to their advantage or disadvantage depending on what ranks were allowed on this particular floor. 

       Quietly, the two teens wandered through the hall, hoping they could find Heero and Hotaru soon before Iron Fist suspects something was amiss.    

      All of the sudden, loud booming voices echoed off the walls. Frantically the two pilots raced around a corner coming across several rows of doors, Without even thinking Quatre and Wufei ducked in one and closed the door softly behind them.      

       Breathlessly, they slumped against the wall, their pulses racing at the fact, they were nearly caught. 

       Glancing around the room, the two pilots decided that they were in very disorganized janitor's closet.

       The only other question was, what else is on this floor?

       "That was close," the blonde mumbled as Wufei nodded his agreement. 

       "We should probably wait a few minutes to be sure that the coast is clear," the Chinese teen suggested as they both fell quiet.

*~*~*~*       

       'Ugh! Why the hell did you have to make this thing so damn difficult!' Deidra grumbled to herself standing on her left hand and foot while trying to keep the rest of her body away from the beams strung out across the floor. She managed to keep her right hand close to her body while estimating which route would be the easiest to take while pulling her bent right leg behind her left one.

       Taking a deep breath the burgundy-haired girl realized she was going to have to somehow angled her body so she could pivot her right leg over the bar followed by her hand, as she switches her body weight to that side, lifting up her left hand and foot at the same time. 'Good thing I was good at Twister, otherwise, I'd be screwed.'  

       Duo meanwhile sat in the air duct, completely stunned at the multiple ways the girl was able to twist her body around. There was no way he could do half the movements she just did. The braided-haired teen would fall flat on his butt and set off all the alarms. 

       'One... two...three,' Deidra said to herself, slowly pivoting her right leg over the infrared bar followed by her hand and finally the rest of her body. To her relief, she succeeded. 

       Releasing the breath she was holding, the curly-haired girl thought, 'Okay, now for under.'  Carefully, she angled her left leg down, missing the bar to the right of it, placing the two legs on top of one another. Next she placed her left hand next to the right. 'So if I flip myself over, miss the beam at my knees, I can scoot underneath the bar then I'll have one section left. Oh, I love my job.'      

       Once again, Deidra balanced herself on her left hand as she turned her body slowly from her stomach to her back, catching herself with her other hand practically forming a deformed bridge with her body, narrowly avoiding the bar across her stomach. 

       'That's it! I'm killing Stanz! This is way too much work! You better have something good up here I'm blowing up the joint!' the green-eyed girl thought with a frown on her face. 

       'Come on Deidra, you're almost there. Just a few more steps babe,' Duo thought, realizing she was getting frustrated, and who could blame her? She had practically stretched and contorted her body past its limits. 

       'I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE!' the aggravated girl's head screamed as she lifted her feet up, balanced only on her hands, before slowly backing up. Once the bar was past her knees, she bent her legs and placed her feet down. From there Deidra dropped down to her shoulders very alert that there was a bar under her back.

       Slowly she slid her upper body under another bar and walked her feet forward pushing herself clear of the bar up to her waist before putting her weight back on her upper body as she lifted her legs at an angle successfully clearing the bar as she flopped the ground, feeling sapped. "Thank you!"

       With a quick head shake and a few deep breaths, Deidra was back on her feet, and punching away on the buttons of the security box. Finally the beams went down. 

       With a wave of her hand, the curly-haired girl signaled that it was safe to walk the floor to the cobalt blue-eyed teen who took off running. He wasn't about to take a chance of them coming on!

       "Nice foot work," Duo grinned earning him a well-deserved elbow to his chest from the sore teenaged girl. "Ow!"

       With a grin Deidra replied, "You try doing it and tell me how you feel," as they ventured out of the room. 

       "FREEZE! Drop your weapons and place your hands above your heads. You are both under arrest!" a police officer shouted shocking the two teenagers to death. 

       Stunned, Duo and Deidra stared wide-eyed in horror at the five uniformed men pointing guns at them as five more came up from behind, surrounding them. They couldn't run or fight. There was no way out.

       "What?!" the chestnut brown-haired teen cried out unable to believe what he was hearing. They have failed. They have failed miserably.

       "But-but I work for Stanz!" the girl stammered, earnestly trying to figure away out of the tight situation they were now in, appearing quite nervous. "Um, we were testing the security system."

       Suddenly out of the shadows, they were greeted by another man, Nitol Stanz himself. "Silence you miserable little retch! I have never seen you before in my life!" the arrogant leader growled before turning to the officers gracefully, "Thank you, gentlemen for arriving."

       "I don't believe this," Deidra whispered finding it difficult to focus on anything. This was not supposed to be happening! They were supposed to pull this mission off, not get arrested!

       Nodding his head in agreement Duo muttered as he raised his hands above his head along with the L2 girl. "We are in so much shit right now." Quietly, the boy pressed a tiny button on his watch, hoping the others would receive it in time before they were placed in handcuffs as well.

       Pushing the two teens against the wall, two officers frisked them as another read them their rights.

*~*~*~*

      Trowa, and Trista were half away down the hallway when the boy's watch began to vibrate followed by a small lit up number two. "Oh no. Duo and Deidra have been caught. We need to abort the mission immediately," the L3 pilot spoke as he and Trista spun quickly around, and began their escape from the building.  

      "The cafeteria. It's our only chance out of here," the dark green-haired girl whispered as they turned down another hallway, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. 

       Neither of them wanted to think about what may happen to their two captured friends. They only knew they had to escape otherwise any chance of rescue would be impossible.  

       Suddenly, Trista, felt someone, yank her against a wall. To her relief, it was only Trowa, who spied three scientists heading in their direction. 

       Silently they waited for the white lab coat clad men to pass. A second later, the teens were clear. Exchanging glances, they ventured out into the open once again. 

       One more corner and then they'd be home free.

       "Hold it right there! Hands above your heads, NOW!" a big burly police officer in front of five others which with hand guns, ordered the L3 teens who reluctantly complied to the man's wishes as six other men approached them from behind. 

*~*~*~*

       "It's too quiet," Wufei muttered as he and Quatre snuck out of the closet. 

       Nodding his head, the blonde said, "I agree-" Just then the Arabian was cut off by his own watch flashing a number 2. "Oh no! Duo and Deidra have been caught!" 

       With a sigh the Chinese teen muttered, "We better leave before-"

       "FREEZE!"

*~*~*~*

       Slowly, Heero opened his eyes and groggily glanced around the room.

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: I know, you hate the cliffhanger, but that was the effect I was going for. I needed something very suspenseful to prepare everyone for what will happen next.  Bet you didn't expect the others to get arrested now did you? After all, I couldn't let Heero and Hotaru get rescued just yet, the fun is only beginning. (Wow, I sound evil there)

Just to remind you, I changed Lita to Trista because she is a lot more like Trowa. I'm also going with the dubbed names as well, because Hotaru is the only one of Japanese descent.  

By the way, I did not mean to have the names matched up like they are with the first letters. That just oddly happened. In fact, Deidra was created long before I ever watched Gundam Wing and as I was trying to decide what two Sailor Senshi to use, she just popped into my head.

Thank you for the reviews ^_^


	17. Caged

Shattered Reality Part 17

Caged

by

Sailor Janus

       Slowly, Heero opened his eyes, oddly cringing in pain. 'What is wrong with me? Everything hurts like hell,' the Prussian blue-eyed teen thought, clenching his teeth as he sat up, glancing curiously around the unfamiliar room. 'How did I get here?'

       Suddenly everything which occurred yesterday from awaking in the morning with Hotaru in his arms to Iron Fist practically beating the crap out of him, then discovering the fact that Duo and himself had been captured and finally being injected by the virus came rushing back to him. 

       Strangely, the Perfect Soldier noticed a small figure sprawled out on the ground. His first thought that was Iron Fist had done something to Duo, but the person was smaller than the braided-haired teen. 

       Just then, Heero realized exactly who was lying on the floor. Hotaru.

       Quickly, the boy slid off the bed, ignoring his body's protests of agony as he numbly walked closer to the dark-haired girl. 'When did she get here? Haven't those bastards put Firefly through enough?' Heero angrily thought as he carefully dropped to his knees next to her. 

       A cold chill coursed through the teenaged boy's bones, which he tried to disregard as well. Hotaru was more important than his own well-being.

       Hesitantly, Heero reached his hand out and touched the girl's face. To his relief, she was still warm. Sliding his hand down to her neck, the blue-eyed boy discovered that the dark-haired girl's pulse was strong and steady as well. 

       "Hotaru. Hotaru, wake up," Heero croaked out as he gently shook her shoulder. A second later, the girl's violet eyes fluttered open.   

       Keeping her body stationary on the floor, Hotaru blinked but didn't move a muscle. Could she move? It felt like she was paralyzed somehow but was the teen really or was it just in her head?

       The Perfect Soldier took notice to the fact that Hotaru had not even attempted to pick herself off the ground. Feeling a slight amount of concern, he laid in front of the dark-haired girl, which was fairly challenging considering the fact that he was back in shackles again. 

       Hotaru jumped a little, startled by the sudden face staring into hers, but it wasn't enough to really make her move or say a word for that matter.

       "Firefly. You okay?" Heero question the girl who swallowed thickly as she came to realization that the presence was a pleasantly familiar one.              

       'Heero, I have...something to tell you,' her head said as Hotaru choked on the words. 'Wait... why can't I move or speak?! What did they do to me?! Damn it!' she urgently thought, as her eyes darted around the room.

       The teenaged pilot tried to earnestly to ignore the icy feeling coursing through his skin, muscles, and bones, causing him to coolly shiver. "Hotaru, can you hear me?"

       Gritting her teeth Hotaru blinked, hoping that Heero pilot might get the message.

       'Something is wrong with her,' the dark blue-eyed boy thought as he watched the girl. "Firefly, try to open your mouth and say something."

       In frustration, instead the dark-haired girl shut her eyes. 'What did they do to me?! Damn it father! Why?!'

       Slowly Heero reached out his shackled hands to Hotaru's. 'If Firefly is for certain paralyzed then she won't be able to feel the sensation of my skin against hers. Either way, we still have a large problem,' he thought, lightly placing one of his hands on top of Hotaru's.

       Oddly, sudden coolness of Heero's skin caused the girl's violet eyes to spring open. Frowning she managed to move her small hand under his to both of their surprise.

       Swallowing, Hotaru released a sigh as she said, "I guess, the experiment is wearing off. Sorry to have brought you into this."

       Both teens remained lying on the cool linoleum floor, staring into each other's eyes, not speaking a single word. 

       Stiffly, the dark-haired girl lifted her head, not quite able to decide whether to tell Heero everything or not. He had the right to know but it was just too difficult to say and form the correct words. 

       Taking a deep breath, Hotaru eased herself upright, and leaned against the bed on the floor. She knew exactly what she was going to have to do, confess the entire truth about their dire situation. 

       Getting the message, Heero followed her in pursuit, sitting next the girl who had a lot to say in a short amount of time. 

       "When did you get here? Have you seen Duo? The last I saw of him, they were dragging him away," the Perfect Soldier said in his usual monotone. 

       "He's safe," Hotaru firmly answered, as she stared into the floor. 

       Arching an eyebrow slightly the pilot glanced at the girl, realizing she was not saying everything she wanted to say. "Explain.... Firefly, you're hiding something. I can sense it."

       "Duo is safe because I traded him for myself. They never wanted him to begin with. It was me that Iron First was after. And you," Hotaru admitted, avoiding Heero's eyes completely.

       "Me? Why Me?"

       "I..." Hotaru began to reply but froze in mid-sentence, unsure of where to start.

       "Hotaru, tell me," Heero firmly ordered earning a sigh in return. 

       Staring into the wall for a brief minute the violet-eyed girl crisply said, "You're not going to like what you're about to hear Yuy." Swallowing thickly, Hotaru began her explanation. "They need both of us in order to fulfill whatever the big plan is," Pausing momentarily, the girl glanced at Heero. "You're not the only one from L1, because I descend from that colony as well. Perfect Soldier, meet the Perfect Weapon."

       "What?!" Heero could not believe his ears. She could not be serious, could she?

       Taking a deep breath the teenaged girl continued. "I was not supposed to kill any of you. Iron Fist used me, they planned all the events from the mind control device malfunctioning to Relena's death and even the virus. Everything was set up and thanks to my stupidity, I gave them everything they wanted. You and I are the main puzzle pieces. To make everything even more twisted. Prof T confessed that he is indeed my father."  

       "So you're from L1?" the pilot asked as he tried to take all of the hard to swallow information in. 

       "Yes. We were both trained in the same laboratory by the same people at the same time only in different areas of the building. I know they are not bluffing because I saw you when I was a child, Odin Lowe Jr."       

       Heero's eyes grew wide at the name which appeared from the mouth of the teenaged girl next to him. "I can't recall seeing you."

       Nodding her head, Hotaru quietly said, "It was only for a split second. A few years later I was taken away by my father whose mind became corrupted, granted by a lab explosion which took the life of my mother. Training changed and I became what you see today."

       "We have to get out of here," the Perfect Soldier quietly said, recalling the information the man who aided him in finding the antidote to the virus. He was indeed not lying. 

       "Escape from this cell is near impossible. The room is constantly monitored by surveillance cameras and the halls are heavily guarded. The door is made of iron or perhaps even gundanium, not to mention both our wrists and ankles are shackled," the violet-eyed girl reported, appearing frustrated at the same time. "They intend on keeping us here at all costs. I doubt the others will be able to find us even if they tried. He wants to correct us, as he said."

       The Prussian blue-eyed pilot scoffed at the word correct. "Whatever that means, it can't be good. Why did you come here in the first place? Are the others here?" 

       Silently the girl shook her head. "No, I came alone. I thought for certain that they were using both of you as bait, but I was dead wrong." 

       Slowly, Hotaru turned to Heero and abruptly kissed him on the mouth as she wrapped her shackled arms around his neck to the Perfect Soldier's shock.    

       Lightly, the girl brushed her lips across his while she carefully twisted her body around to where she could easily sit in his lap. This action too stunned Heero speechless, as he intensely stared at her.

       Slyly, Hotaru hugged the boy lightly as she leaned against him whispering in his ear quietly, "Put your arms around me soon as I remove mine from around your neck. I am fairly certain that this room may be bugged. Act as if you're making out with me to look less suspicious."           

       Understanding perfectly well what the girl was planning, Heero turned his head, gently taking the girl by her chin with one hand and pressed his lips firmly against hers.

       Taking the signal, the L1 girl removed her arms from around the pilot's neck long enough for him to slip his restrained wrists over Hotaru's head and down her to her small waist, slightly pulling the dark-haired girl closer to him. 

       Briefly, the boy pulled away staring deep into Hotaru's crystal-like violet eyes, as if expecting her to wrap her arms around his neck as she previously had done.        

       Gazing into Heero's sapphire blue eyes, the teenaged girl brought a hand up to his face, running her finger tips delicately across his face before encircling her arms around his neck. Momentarily Hotaru paused to run her fingers through the pilot's thick dark hair as he slightly shivered, drawing her closer. 

       'Why is he acting like he's freezing.... Heero is still trying to battle the virus. His body heat had dropped significantly as the damage in his system began and continued the rebuilding process,' the violet-eyed assassin thought defeatedly. 'No wonder he is holding me so tightly.' 

       Leaning forward Heero whispered in Hotaru's ear, "What do you need to tell me?"

       Dropping her gaze to her lap, the girl lurched forward, and hugged the Prussian blue-eyed teen tightly. "I received an email from someone called E addressed to Firefly and the Gundam Pilots. It stated he or she had something we may be interested in and to meet him or her in a warehouse in Draven City. I ordered the other guys to check it out when I came here to free you and Duo. Instead I gave Duo my jacket and directions to the warehouse."

       Nodding, Heero ran his hands lightly up and down Hotaru's back as if trying to appear reassuring. "What do you think it could be?" he softly whispered as the girl slowly pulled back. They stared at each other in the eye for a few seconds before the Perfect Soldier roughly forced his mouth against the dark-haired girl's, holding her shoulders steady with his strong hands. Taking a breath he asked, "What if it were a trap set by Iron Fist?"  

       Taking a breath, glanced at each other. Lightly, Hotaru brushed her lips across Heero's face whispering, "Doubt it. Stanz or my father would have mentioned it. We do speculate that it could be new Gundams."

       "But how? The scientists are dead and the Gundams as well as the blueprints have been destroyed."

       The Wing Zero pilot turned his head so his mouth met the girl's once again. Breathlessly against Heero's mouth she answered, "I don't know, but we need something to fight with otherwise, there is no hope."

       Abruptly, Hotaru dropped her head, leaning it against the boy's chest. Oddly, she began to feel fatigued, regarding it as a lovely side effect to whatever her bastard of a father did to her. 

       Heero too could feel his eyes drooping, knowing that it was from the antidote but couldn't bring himself to let the girl in his arms go. Her warm body felt pleasant against his chilled one. "You're right. We do have to get out of here before they have the chance to take us over," the Prussian blue-eyed pilot whispered, feeling the girl nod her head from under his chin.

       Hotaru slowly slipped her arms from around Heero's neck and snuggled close to him. She couldn't understand why she was acting the way she did. For some reason, she felt more secure in his arms. She knew, considering whatever her father was planning, they both needed all the security they could get. 

       Expressionlessly, Heero sat holding Hotaru close to him. Who knew when they'd next be able to sit like this again? It was likely that this could be the last time. 

       Before the teens knew it, the Perfect Soldier was lying on his back clutching the dark-haired girl close to him. Neither said a single word, as they listened to each other softly breathe before falling into a peaceful sleep. Separated from the bloodshed and terror they experienced in their everyday lives. At least Heero and Hotaru appeared to be at peace. For how long? Not nearly long enough.      

*~*~*~*

       Deidra sat against the wall of the small jail cell she shared with Trista. The burgundy-haired girl didn't care how dirty the floor was she was going to sit on it and that was that. "I never even once dreamt I'd be standing behind bars. Usually my blood is gushing out the back of a bullet wound to my head," Deidra eerily said, taking her hair down.

       The green-tinted haired teenager slightly frowned at her friend, "Deidra, I think I prefer your lighter side." It was just too disturbing to hear the normally cheerful girl talk so darkly. 

       With a small smirk the L2 girl nodded, "The accommodations here suck! You call this a jail cell?! A refrigerator box would have been bigger!" Softly, she sighed, 'Once again I pick up my wonderful mask. Maybe the world is not ready for my dark side.'

       Silently, Trista gazed out of the iron bars on the windows, her garnet eyes slight glittering. "I hope the guys are okay." 

       With a shrug, Deidra climbed up to her feet and stood beside the L3 teen. "Yeah. Any regrets on committing treason against Iron Fist and joining the gundam pilots?"

       "No. You?"

       Grinning the burgundy-haired ex-cat burglar shook her head. "Not even the slightest bit. Iron Fist needs to go down."

       Nodding Trista inquired, "I wonder why Stanz had us imprisoned in the city jail rather than his own. Also why didn't he just execute us? It does not make sense."

       Twisting around, Deidra leaned her back against the cool wall as she folded her arms in front of her. "Good question. We're gonna have to figure a way out of here! There is no way I'm going to live in a smelly jail!"

       "Agreed."

*~*~*~*

       _"Nobody knows the troubles I've seen. Nobody knows my sorrows,"_ Duo sang, as he leaned against cold steal bars of the men's jail cell. 

       "Maxwell, please shut up. You're giving me a headache," Wufei grumbled from where he was trying to meditate in a corner on the floor. 

       With a scoff, the braided-haired teen ceased his singing. "I hate being stuck in jail! Didn't exactly expect this to happen. Completely sucks."

       "How do we get out of this one?" Quatre asked his friends with a sigh from where he sat on the bed. The Arabian was growing tired of things constantly going wrong. This was the least anticipated event to take place.  

       "No idea," Trowa murmured from his place against the wall. "We'll figure something out. I just cannot seem to understand why they sent us to jail instead of killing us."

       "Iron Fist is probably planning something. It'll just take time before they get their act together if it already isn't," the Chinese teen quietly said as the others nodded in agreement.

       With a sigh Duo leaned further against the bars, "I wonder what they are planning for Heero and Hotaru?"  

       "I don't want to know. Whatever it is, it's probably very bad," the aquamarine blue-eyed boy answered as a chill coursed through his body. 

       "We still have to go back. We can't just leave Heero and Hotaru there," the tall teen reminded his friends. 

       "Hopefully, next time we won't be sent directly to jail, can't pass go or collect $200," Duo sarcastically mumbled as he scratched his head. "Think the girls are okay?"

       "They should be," Trowa answered, resting his head against the wall, glancing up at the ceiling. 

       Standing up, the cobalt blue-eyed pilot stretched as he said with a yawn, "How do you suppose we get out of here? I've spent too much of my life in jail."         

       "Didn't we warn you not to get caught?" a new voice said from the shadows of the hallway.

       Quickly, the four teenaged boys spun around to find Dr. E standing before them. Puzzled they stared at the man, wondering why he was there. Hopefully it was to free them.

       "We could not exactly help it. They knew we were there the entire time," the Quatre explained as he rose from the bed. 

       "I don't suppose you four would like out of this gilded cage?" the white-haired man snickered.

       Duo rolled his eyes in annoyance as he dryly said, "Nah, I was thinking of making this place my summer home. You know a little paint here, some curtains, the joint could really turn around."

       "Suit yourself Maxwell," the Chinese teen snorted as he climbed to his feet.

       "Hey! I was being sarcastic! Since when did you actually, ever take me serious Wu-man?"

       "Stop calling me that you fool! My name is Wufei," the Altron pilot practically growled. 

       Dr E, who appeared to be losing his patience rolled his eyes at the two bickering teens. "Ahem. Should I just leave you four here and allow Iron Fist to complete their plans of world domination?"

       "Please excuse them. They always act like that," Quatre sighed appearing embarrassed on their behalf's. 

       "Very well, then," the scientist said when to the amazement of the four captive teens, he pulled out a pair of keys.

       The cobalt blue-eyed pilot stared dumbfounded at the man. "Wait! How'd you get a hold of the keys?!" he exclaimed, as Dr. E unlocked the door. 

       Chuckling he replied, "Just because I'm scientist does not mean I can't pick up a few other skills here and there."

       Gratefully, the four boys exited their confinements and quickly followed the older man down the hall only to be reunited with Deidra and Trista who appeared pleased to be freed as George trailed after them. 

       "Thank you so very much! I take back every bad thing I said about you guys!" the burgundy-haired girl rambled seeming to be very relieved to be out of the small cell. 

       "Are you girls all right?" the Arabian questioned the two newcomers who in turn nodded. 

       "Other than being stuck in a room that made a cat's dirty litter box smell wonderful, yeah, I'm good," Deidra grinned, pushing a lock of hair out of her face.  

       The balding dark-haired man quietly glanced at his watch. "We better leave now. The gas should start wearing off in ten minutes."

       "You gassed the police officers?" the tall teenaged girl inquired of the shorter man.

       "How else do you think we came to acquire the keys? We will take all measures to be sure that Iron Fist will not complete their reign of power and the only way that is even possible is if you six are able to fight," Dr. E crisply explained, leading the pilots out of the station.

       "But how can we stop them when they seem to be one step ahead not to mention they still have Yuy and Tomoe," Wufei calmly asked. He knew being hot-headed would not improve their situation any. He was growing fatigued with constant failure.        

       "That is up to you," George answered, annoying the pilot greatly. "We will provide the tools, you must figure out how to use them."

       "I suppose we should head back to the girls' apartment in order to device another plan," the green-eyed pilot softly spoke as the others agreed.    

*~*~*~*    

       "Who wants to bet they're probably gonna move Heero and Hotaru elsewhere?" Duo grumbled, from the floor where he was lying on his stomach in the living room, with his hands propping up his head appearing completely bored and disgusted at the same time. 

       Trowa stiffly nodded his head from his place at the kitchen table. "I'll have to agree with Duo. If they are really intent on keeping Heero and Hotaru for whatever they are planning, relocation is highly likely."

       "I wonder where they are going to go next. Are we even going to be able to find them in time?!" the blonde inquired with a slight tone of panic quivering in his voice as he glanced out the window from the small sofa. Quatre knew they were running out of time fast. Each hour wasted could be an hour of success for Iron Fist.        

       "We will know when the time comes. I'm more concerned about when they plan on releasing their mobile suits," the Chinese pilot quietly said from his seat at the kitchen table. A steaming hot cup of tea sat temptingly in front of him. 

       Trista glanced thoughtfully and the scratches on the wood table. "It is likely that they want us alive for a reason," she softly said before raising her garnet stare. "Perhaps to test whatever they are planning for your missing friends."

       "Great, so you mean we are going to be guinea pigs for their brilliant experiments? I love my life," the burgundy-haired girl drawled, momentarily adverting her attention from the small deck of cards spread out before her on the floor. 

       Frowning the tall circus performer whispered to the green tinted-haired girl, "Is Deidra using tarot cards?"         

       "Yes. I do not understand why she does, but it seems to put her at ease," Trista answered she watched her friend shuffle the small deck before spreading it out and taking out a few cards. 

       Lifting his head up, the cobalt blue-eyed teen watched the ex-cat burglar whisper a few inaudible words before flipping over a card. "Hey babe! Whatcha doing?"

       "Tarot reading," Deidra quietly murmured, her eyes completely focused on the cards. Suddenly her jade green gaze widened upon lifting a single card. Staring into her face was the one card which was oddly most feared but did not possess the same meaning as its name. "Death."

       "Huh?" Duo mumbled, as a confused look filled his face. Clumsily he crawled over the curly-haired girl, peering over her shoulder. "Hey you drew the death card! Um, is that a bad thing?"

       Lightly Deidra shook her head as she stared at the plastic card with the Grim Reaper plastered on the front. "It means transition," Swallowing thickly, her green eyes seemed to burn through the card as if there were more to it than what she said. 'But I also drew the wheel of fortune and the tower. There is something wrong. Too many cards indicate change.' 

       Bewildered, the others blinked as the burgundy-haired girl scrambled for a regular deck of cards. Whispering something as she shuffled the well-worn cards before cutting the deck and drawing four. Gasping, she stared in horror at the four black cards.

       "Deidra, what's up? What's wrong?" the braided-haired teen concernly asked, gently shaking her shoulder.

       Without saying a word, the girl climbed to her feet and bolted into her bedroom as everyone in confusion watched.

       "She's lost it," Wufei grumbled as Trista began to stand up to check on the L2 girl. Trowa and Quatre exchanged perplexed glances wondering what exactly was going on as Duo who was already on his feet, began heading towards the girl's room.

       Just as he reached the door, it suddenly swung open, nearly slamming him in the face as a very frantically Deidra rushed out. "Everyone we must get out of here NOW!"

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: I'm so glad everyone is liking this. Truthfully this has got to be my favorite story I have written so far. I love all the twists I have thrown into it.     

This is probably the turning point for excitement and suspense. The next chapters on, are going to be rather, interesting. Two different story lines are still going to go on at once (Heero/Hotaru and the others) before I'll mesh them together. There's still plenty in store for our eight friends.       


	18. Time Bomb

Shattered Reality Part 18

Time Bomb

by

Sailor Janus

         "Listen to me! We have to get out of here!" Deidra yelled as Duo tried to recover from nearly being slammed in the face by the burgundy-haired girl's bedroom door.

         The other four teens stared at the urgent curly-haired girl. She was either on to something or has completely lost her mind as Wufei had suggested.

         "My cards predict major change and possibly death!"  the frustrated L2 girl continued, before continuing, "NOW LET'S GO!"

         "Deidra, you should not take that stuff so seriously," Quatre gently said, earning a cold glare from the frantic teenager.

         Pulling Duo roughly, away from the wall by the arm and to the center the room the burgundy-haired girl shouted, "The cards do not lie! Now move your asses! MOVE!" 

         Curiously, Trowa, pulled out the device which Hotaru had given him, only to discover that Deidra was telling the truth after all. Grabbing Hotaru's lap top from the counter, he rose to his feet reporting, "She's right. There is a bomb in this apartment and it's set to detonate in one minute...or less."

         "Oh shit! Evacuate the building! Pull the damn fire alarm!" the chestnut brown-haired pilot yelled as he and his friends quickly scrambled from wherever they were sitting or standing, rushing out of the door. 

         Trista, yanked on the fire alarm signaling trouble as she slammed the door shut.

         Together the six teens hurried down the hall, three flights of stairs and straight to the parking lot.

         Glancing at his watch, as he ran as fast as he could away from the apartment, the L3 pilot began counting down, "3....2....1-"

         The entire building shook with a loud explosion, as flames soon engulfed the inside, filling the air with smoke. The impact however, knocked the six teenagers off the feet, crashing onto the hard pavement. 

         Wincing, Deidra turned her head and began gaping at the destruction of what used to be her home. "I-I'm homeless! I have no home! My purse!" Suddenly, she climbed to her feet and tried to race towards her apartment only to be yanked down by Duo. 

         "Trista, grabbed it," he simply said, tossing the black bag to the green-eyed girl. "Don't worry, Deidra. You can stay with us!" he grinned earning a stiff nod from the burgundy-haired teen.  

         "Question Maxwell, where? We are still wanted for the murder of Relena Peacecraft and the authorities know where we live so it's very likely that they have staked it out." Wufei said stating the obvious problem of the moment. 

         The dark green-haired young woman frowned, "Strange. Do you see anyone else out here? We're the only ones standing outside."

         "I didn't see anyone in the halls. Did they evacuate the other residents without our acknowledgement?" the blonde Arabian inquired, as the others focused on the burning building. 

         Suddenly, a sheet of paper floated down next to Wufei. Curiously, the Chinese pilot picked it up and inspected the type printed out of the now dirty sheet of paper. "It was quarantined due to an asbestos problem."

         "What?!" Deidra exclaimed, snatching the paper out of Wufei's hand to examine it for herself. "Damn them. Why weren't we notified?!" 

         "Because they wanted us in that building," the garnet-eyed teen sighed, feeling disgusted at the fact that she had just lost everything they had worked so hard for.                    

         "Does anyone else want to send Nitol 'someone needs to remove his anal probe leftover from the alien abduction' Stanz a thank you bomb?" the curly-haired ex-cat burglar flatly said, appearing extremely pissed off at the moment. "What?" she added, realizing everyone was staring at her. 

         Duo tried his hardest to keep from snickering as the others adverted their eyes from the L2 girl, trying earnestly not to stare. Clearly she was not in the best of moods. "Um, babe. I think you need to cool down a bit but that was a good one!"

         "Maxwell, by all means, don't encourage her," the Altron pilot sighed, rolling his dark eyes. 

         Clearing his throat, Quatre tried to change the subject as fast as possible. "Um, I propose we seek refuge with the scientists. After all, no one else knows about our help."

         Nodding, Trowa agreed, "That is probably our best choice. Everywhere else, motels included, could lead us right back to jail."

         Tiresomely, the six teens decided that was their only option despite how they felt about asking the scientists for help. Perhaps they had expected this to happen. If not then the five men should at least give them some blankets and they will just sleep in the warehouse with the gundams.  

*~*~*~*

         Groaning softly, Hotaru began to wake up, slowly opening her eyes. Oddly, she felt something warm underneath her. With a slight turn of her head, she realized it was Heero, who was still sound asleep.

         'I hope I didn't wake him up. He needs to recover from that virus as much as possible. I have a feeling Prof. T, my father, is not going to be able to wait for much longer. Damn it. Why does he have to do this?' the dark-haired girl thought, resting her head back on the Perfect Soldier's chest, feeling it rise and fall beneath her. 

         Just then, Heero began to slowly stir, unaware of the girl that was still in his arms, until he opened his eyes. Blinking a few times, he managed to bring everything into focus.

         "It's hell recovering from the virus isn't it," Hotaru softly said, still feeling extremely drained from whatever the scientists had done to her.

         Nodding the teenaged boy inquired, "Have you set up a plan?"

         "No, everything I try to plan out ends up seeming hopeless. We could try sweeping the guards' feet then make a run for it, but the shackles make that really difficult, shortening the space between us and them, until we are imprisoned once again. None of the guards enter with weapons, so we cannot apprehend them, and Prof. T always have a vile of something in his lab coat." Briefly the dark-haired girl closed her eyes as she added, "Right now, it is hopeless."

         "We'll just have to go along with whatever they are planning until opportunity reveals itself." Carefully, Heero managed to sit up with the girl still in his embrace. "I have a feeling we do not have much time left."

         Hotaru released the breath she was holding before gazing into Perfect Soldier's dark blue eyes. "That's because we don't. Since you are fairly healthy again, Prof. T can do whatever he has planned."

         "That is precisely, correct," the white-haired man sneered, making his presence clear, surrounded by several guards who were eyeing the two teens.

         Coldly Heero glared, removing his arms from around Hotaru, whose expression was very similar. "Release us now or you will pay."

         Chuckling, the scientist shook his head, "You are in no position to make threats, my boy. Not by far."

         'What the hell is he planning?' The violet-eyed girl thought, clinching her fist so tightly that she swore her nails would pierce through her skin. "I feel ashamed to even call you father. Why are you doing this?"

         "Scientists concoct experiments, and I am a scientist. You do the math," Prof. T. snickered, snapping his fingers.  Suddenly, the guards began to approach the two teens who were at an extremely bad disadvantage. 

         Gritting her teeth, Hotaru separated from Heero, planting her hands firmly on the ground, leaning to her left before kicking her shackled legs up, nailing one guard in the crotch. In a flash she pivoted her body around, sweeping the legs out from another. 

         'Nice strike, Firefly, but will this be enough?' the Perfect Soldier, slamming the man who was kicked in the crotch with his bound fists in the face then elbowing another in the gut. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hotaru rise herself up to a hand stand, slamming her feet into a blonde-haired man's chest, sending him staggering back into the scientist, both falling to the ground. 

         Suddenly, a redhead kicked Hotaru's hands out from under her, striking her head at the same time causing the girl to collapse to the ground with a loud thud on her head and back instantly knocking the wind out of her.  Oddly, it felt as though the room was spinning violently as the violet-eyed teen struggled to breath. 'What is happening?' In the back of her mind, she could hear Heero yell for her as he was apprehended by five guards, but soon blacked out.

         "Hotaru!" The teenaged boy stared in disbelief at the still form of Hotaru Tomoe. 'A blow like that should not have affected her that much. Shit. What have you done Prof. T?'  The brown-haired pilot thought, before feeling a piercing pain in the back of his neck and slowly lost consciousness.

*~*~*~*

         The plan to go to the scientist's warehouse did not begin as expected since Trista and Trowa both had to struggle in order to remove a bomb from the van. The circus performer silently thanked Hotaru again for the detection device. It was a definite life saver. Deidra and Duo who were bored out of their minds, sat on the pavement in the vacant parking lot, playing a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. This left Wufei to muttered inaudible phrases under his breath while Quatre attempted to set a plan of action for dealing with Iron Fist and saving their captured friends.          

         "Ha! Rock crushes scissors!" the burgundy-haired girl smirked, lightly slamming her fist on the boy's 'scissors.' 

         Pouting, Duo mumbled, "You cheated!" This earned him a giggle and a very skeptical look from his opponent.

         "How can a person cheat at Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Deidra inquired, her jade green eyes glimmering under the street lamp. 

         Shrugging the braided-haired teen answered, "I don't know but you did! You probably asked the cards or something."        

         Deidra suddenly began shaking with laughter. "Sure. Oh great invisible cards, help me read Duo Maxwell's thoughts!" This made the girl laugh even harder.

         In annoyance, the Deathscythe Hell pilot stuck his tongue out at her. "Very funny, babe," he dryly said.

         "Can you two stop acting so childish?" Wufei grumbled, rolling his eyes at the two  teen's antics. 

         "Why? You wanna play too, Wuffy?" Deidra grinned as the Altron pilot scoffed at the suggestion.          

         "Hmph!" The Chinese teen grunted before narrowing his gaze. "My name is Wufei, not Wuffy. Get it right woman."

         "Kay Wuffy!" the curly haired girl beamed, climbing to her feet as Duo tried his hardest not to roll on the ground with laughter at the infuriated expression on Wufei's face. "Hey Duo! I found a chocolate bar in my purse. Want half?"

         This got the braided-haired teen's attention. "Chocolate? Sure!" Happily, Duo scrambled off the ground, racing up to the burgundy-haired girl who was trying to break the candy bar in half. 

         The Chinese pilot sighed in defeat, "Why me? Why those two? And why do they have to have sugar?!" 

*~*~*~*

         The two L2 teens sat on a curb, eating the sugary goodness. Deidra had offered some to the others but they declined accepting Trista's protein bars instead. The two girls often carried some form of food in their purses in case they had to hide out somewhere. The two ex-Iron Fist agents had three sources of food between them which was split up amongst everyone.

         "Hey thanks for the chocolate," Duo quietly said taking a glance at the curly-haired girl sitting next to him. 

         "Don't mention it. I personally cannot stand Trista's protein bars. They taste like cardboard," Deidra answered making a face. "I can't see how the others like them. Blah."

         This made the chestnut brown-haired boy chuckle. "Yeah, they are gross but when you're hungry you'd eat anything."

         "Yeah, I suppose you're right, " the green-eyed ex-cat burglar shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself, turning her head to watch her partner and the curiously quiet boy hard at work.        

         Duo opened his mouth to say something, but forgot what he was about to say, watching small strands of Deidra's ringlets blowing lightly in the breeze. Closing his mouth, he turned his attention the two L3 teenagers, briefly glancing at the girl sitting next to him. 

*~*~*~*

         "Cross that wire over there but be careful of the red one," Trista quietly said, as Trowa silently worked on defusing the explosive. 

         Releasing a small sigh, the tall pilot said, "They did a damn good job this time. I don't know if I can deactivate it without setting it off."

         Nodding her head, the dark green-haired girl tried to strategize a way of removing the bomb as they both fell into silence once again. 

         "Remove the blue wire," the two teens simultaneously said before freezing, exchanging quizzical looks. Quickly they averted their gazes, returning to work once again.

         "Sorry to have gotten you and Deidra mixed up in this," Trowa quietly said, ducking his head down to inspect his handiwork.

         Briefly closing her eyes in thought, Trista reassured him, "What happened, happened. Perhaps it was destiny. We are going to end this though."

         "We have to," the Heavyarms pilot agreed, dark green meeting garnet once again. Slowly they moved a little closer.

         The girl however faltered, "I-I think if we cut the black wire, it should deactivate the bomb without destroying any vital part of the van such as the starter."

         "Right," Trowa whispered, turning his attention back to the detonation device. 

*~*~*~*

         Quatre frowned at the sheet of paper in his hands covered with possible methods of defense and offense for rescuing Heero and Hotaru. Unfortunately, each of those ideas were deemed impossible since they had no idea where they might relocate since that seems to be the most likely form of action for Iron Fist. 

         Finally some good news rang through the air. 

         "Hey Quatre! Trowa and Trista defused the bomb! We can go now!" Duo and Deidra announced, with twin grins on their faces. 

         Glancing up, the blonde nodded, quickly gathering up the laptop, paper, and pen from his lap, "Great! We better report to the scientists now. I have a feeling that our situation may worsen."

         The braided-haired pilot's face fell at his friend's speculation. "You just had to spoil it."

         "Stop pouting and come on!" the burgundy-haired girl snickered, grabbing the boy by the arm before racing off with Quatre to the van.

*~*~*~*

         The pilots' van slowly pulled up to the warehouse. It was already getting late and all six teens were growing very tired of the constant conflicts. At least they should have a peace of mind in the warehouse. 

         "We're here," Trowa softly said, putting the vehicle in park. Quietly, Wufei stumbled to the sliding door and jumped followed soon enough by the others. 

         "Home sweet home," Duo drawled, releasing a loud and long yawn. Even the sugar from the candy bar was not working too well. "I hope they at least swept the floor."

         Suddenly, the door swung open and a small bald head peeked out, "We were wondering what took you six so long. Come in."

         The six young pilots exchanged glances, shocked at the fact that the men had known about their intentions to relocate in the warehouse.

         "Why do they keep doing that to us?! It's like they expected these things to happen!" the cobalt blue-eyed teen scoffed, trailing behind his friends into the building.

         Oddly enough, the mobile suit gundams, which once lined the opposite sides of the wall were gone leaving the room rather vacant.

         Frowning, Quatre inquired," Um, excuse me. What happened to the gundams?"

         Dr. E spun around and chuckled. "They were transported to space which the L1 teens are more than likely being sent to."

         "How do you know that? How do you even have the slightest idea as far as what is going on?! Answer me!" Wufei growled, growing increasingly frustrated at the fact that the five men which report they are trying to help them, seem to always be one step ahead. 

         "Time is running out. Iron Fist has already suppressed the colonies and much of Earth itself. They are almost ready to unleash their dolls and suits which I will remind you, are made of gundanium alloy," the white-haired scientist replied to the amazement of the pilots.

         Deidra dropped her jaw at the startling news as Duo bowed his head, lightly shaking it. "Man, it's starting again," he muttered. Angrily, Wufei balled his hands into fists, appearing as though he were ready to scream. Quatre sadly stared into the floor, as Trowa focused his attention on the wall while Trista closed her eyes. This was definitely the last thing they wanted to hear.

         "Which is why you six must report to space," Prof. I crisply said. "The other scientists are already there, preparing the gundams and we shall depart soon as well. Once again, you are our only hope."

         "What colony are we to report to?" Trowa clearly asked, accepting what the present was actually consisting of. He was ready to fight for the future.

         "Colony L1 area 233X. That is where we will wait for you," Dr. E said, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

         The blonde found something very odd. "What do you mean by wait? And what about Heero and Hotaru? Do you know where they have been sent and how do you know everything?"

         "My, so full of questions. We have a few inside sources," The bald-head man said as he and his colleague turned to leave the room. "However, the path you choose get to your destination is up to you. Just don't get caught."

         "You-you mean you're leaving us?! But why?!" the curly-haired girl shouted before angrily glaring. 'I can't believe these guys! They are doing it again!'

         The men chuckled at the outraged girl. "You are the protectors of this world. We can not lead you by the hand and do everything for you. All of you must learn how to fight and survive on your own, only relying on each other. As I said before, we will provide the tools, but you must learn how to use them. Good Luck."

         With that last word, the two men disappeared into the shadows. 

         "Great. I guess we better figure out a way to get there without being sent to jail, again," Duo flatly said, folding his arms behind his head with a sigh. 'Why must everything be left up to us? Fine. If they want a fight, they're gonna have a date with their maker!'

         "We will have to depart on a civilian ship to appear less suspicious. Using disguises may be our best method of action," Trista said, brushing a lock of green tinted hair from her face.

         Agreeing, Trowa added, "Fake identification cards would also be beneficial. I'm sure our pictures have been plastered everywhere."

         "The key word careful. We cannot be caught again," Quatre firmly spoke, receiving five head nods, confirming his belief. 

*~*~*~*

         With a heavy feeling in his head, Heero's eye lids fluttered open. Oddly he found himself bound to a chair. Upon inspection, the Perfect Soldier found he was aboard some type of ship. One glance out the window confirmed his suspicions. They were headed into outer space. 

         Suddenly, Heero heard a soft moan next to him. A swift turn of his head, and he discovered it was coming from Hotaru. Soon, she too opened her eyes and appeared to be just as displeased. With a look that was a mix of pain and disbelief, she closed her eyes murmuring, "I was afraid of this. Damn it."

         "What?" the boy questioned, with a slight glimmer of concern in his Prussian blue eyes. 'Why is she acting as if it is the end of everything?'

         Swallowing thickly, Hotaru hated the words she was about to say but Heero had to hear them. "Remember when I said that Iron Fist needed us to fulfill their plans and Prof T. was going to correct us? I've been playing with a concept in my head, and now it appears that I am correct. They are going to use us in their battle against whoever tries to stop them."

         "Makes sense," Heero nodded, struggling to stay awake. Apparently, they had been drugged once again. 

         "That is not the best part. Do you recall the Perfect Mobile Dolls that I found the other day using the stolen files? That is us," the dark-haired girl sighed. "They are going to retrain or brainwash us into doing exactly what they want us to do."

         "More than likely, to eliminate the other gundam pilots," the Perfect Soldier grimly said, knowing that once they were under Iron Fist's control, it might be difficult if not impossible to take it back.

         Hotaru closed her eyes again, "Iron Fist will be unbeatable and we will have the blood of our friends staining our hands."          

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Sorry updating took so long but school has been evil! I may have to update every two weeks instead of every one week. 

I have outlined the next 7 chapters (yep, this will be a 25 chapter story) and from what I can, it's going to move pretty fast paced from here on out. 

That's it. Thank you for the reviews!


	19. Determination

Shattered Reality Part 19

Determination

by

Sailor Janus

         The six teens gathered around the small card table in the warehouse which once housed the newly rebuilt gundams discussing methods in which to escape to the L1 colony without discovery. 

         "I have an idea. Why don't we wear disguises as Trista mentioned but completely alter our appearances," Deidra exclaimed, brushing a curly strand of hair from her face. 

         "How do we go about that babe," Duo questioned as the girl grinned. 

         "Well, with wigs, hats, makeup, clothes and such. I'm a wiz at disguises! Trista could probably create some fake ids. All we really need are supplies."

         Suddenly a sound of something hitting the ground caught the attention of the six teens who instinctively drew their guns. Cautiously, Wufei, Trowa, and Trista approached as Duo, Deidra, and Quatre stayed behind in case their friends were attacked and needed back up. 

         Silently the trio crept to the back of the warehouse as the others watched with interest. Oddly, the two L3 teens appeared to be slightly amused as Wufei began grumbling curses, marching back towards the others. 

         "What was it," the blonde curiously asked. 

         "A pathetic box of clothes and materials for creating fake identification cards," the Chinese teen muttered, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

         Blinking Deidra chirped. "You know, I'm kinda getting creeped out about the scientists. They know everything! Including the items we need." 

         Nodding as Trista and Trowa dragged the box across the room, Duo agreed. "Yeah they are well, creepy."

*~*~*~*

         Deidra sat on the floor, digging through the box of clothes and frowned. "Damn. There isn't much in the way of clothes for the guys and I don't even want to know why those strange old men have all this stuff!" Biting her lip she stared at a pink shirt and made a face. "Won't help much anyway; they are still looking for two girls and four guys." With a sigh she dug through the cardboard box and pulled out a pair of clip-on earrings which gave her a perfect idea. "Maybe if we don't seem to be in a group, things will not look so suspicious." Pausing the girl bobbed her head slightly. 'I just hope Duo isn't going to be too angry.'

         Just then, the L2 boy bounced up from behind Deidra before taking a seat on the ground to her left. "Having fun?"

         "Uh yeah. I have come up with disguises for everyone and Duo, please promise me you won't hate me? Pretty please?"

         Chuckling the pilot tilted his head, peering in wonder at the girl. "Don't worry babe! What would give you the idea I could hate you?"

         Wincing the ex-cat burglar pulled out a long black skirt and a blue sweater. "Because this is your disguise."

         Duo's face immediately dropped, gaping in horror at what the green-eyed teenaged girl was going to make him wear. "But-but-but those are women's clothes! Deidra!"

         "Sorry but there isn't much in the way of clothes for men in here and they aren't looking for three girls and three boys. Hey, we can even pair off to appear less suspicious!"

         "Yeah, but Deidra!"

         Cringing, she replied, "I'll make you look pretty. You won't even look like a boy after I'm done with you! Especially with that hair! Sorry but there isn't really another option. We can't get caught again."

         Releasing a pent up sigh, Duo nodded his head with a small smirk. "Fine babe. I guess saving the world and Heero and Hotaru is more important than my own self-dignity. Just make me pretty. I don't want to be some ugly old hag." 

         Deidra grinned as she almost threw her arms around the braided-haired teen but restrained herself. She could feel herself growing closer to Duo and perhaps could trust him, but she still held a lot of fear. Bowing her head the girl softly said, "Thank you Duo."

*~*~*~*  

         Heero awoke to feeling his face slam into the cold floor. Blinking, he strained his eyes under the harsh light, trying to pick his head up. Thickly swallowing, he kept the rest of his body motionless. 'Where have they taken us now?' 

         "Get your damn hands off me," Hotaru growled as three men pinned her to the ground. Relentlessly she struggled against them, but found it useless since she was still groggy from whatever they used to knock her out. 

         The Perfect Soldier's eyes flared darkly, as he tried to climb off the floor, but found three guards him forcing back down, refusing to let the teenaged boy up. "Leave her alone you assholes!"

         Chuckling, Prof. T made his appearance clear, slowly approaching his daughter with a vial of dark red liquid firmly in his grasp. "Glad to see you two are fully awake. At last, we can begin." Carefully he removed the cork from the glass container as he barked, "Hold them both still. Especially the girl." 

         "Why are you doing this? If you are indeed my father then why must you subject your only daughter and another innocent to torture?" Hotaru focused her steely violet gaze on the older man, demanding answers which she felt, she had the right to know.

         "I am not your father," the white-haired man simply said, kneeling next to the dark-haired girl. "I have already determined the strength of your bodies, now I must test your minds. Unfortunately, you must take the concoction orally." Heero and Hotaru stared at the man debating in their heads what he meant until the scientist chose his first test subject, Hotaru. Harshly Prof. T forced the girl's mouth open, pouring the vile liquid down her throat before promptly closing it, covering her mouth and nose, so the teenager had no choice but to swallow as he pressed on her throat.

         Cringing, Hotaru allowed the drug access into her body with one defeated gulp. Closing her eyes, she tried to prevent the tears which begged to flood them, feeling as though her throat were on fire. 

         "It's quick-acting so trying to force yourself to vomit will be useless. It's too late," the scientist coldly said, rising to his feet. Turning on his heel, the man gestured for the other guards to follow as well, knowing that the two teenagers were now helpless. 

         Once the door slammed shut, L1 girl clutched her neck with both hands as she rolled over to her side, pulling her knees tightly towards her chest. A wave of dizziness passed over her head. "Damn it."         

         "Hotaru," the teenaged boy said, gathering himself off the ground before weakly stumbling to the girl's side. Lightly he touched her shoulder which she promptly flicked away.

         "It's too late, Yuy. I can already feel the drug taking effect. There is nothing you or I can do at this point. Our situation is useless," Hotaru gasped, her respiration increasing rapidly.

         Nodding quietly, the Perfect Soldier swallowed thickly before commenting, "I thought you said they did not wish to kill us."

         Wincing slightly as the room felt as though it were spinning, the teenaged girl shook her head. "They don't. They're trying to break us down so they can basically rebuild us. First will be tests, then our memories. We won't exist anymore." Raising her violet eyes to meet Heero's blue ones, a sad glimmer filled them. "You and I know what that is like. We will only be shells of our former selves. Heero Yuy and Hotaru Tomoe will cease to be."

         The boy could feel his right hand ball into a tight fist. It was true, they did receive some of their emotions back. Years of mindless tests, experiments, drugs, and practically torture which erased almost every sense of humanity was about to be relived. Even though Heero could not remember what was done to him, he knew it was a least enjoyable experience.

         Suddenly an ear drum shattering scream emitted from Hotaru as she pulled herself into a tighter ball, covering her ears with shaky hands. Breathing harder, she earnestly tried to shield herself from the maddening images flooding her head. First was her cruel reality during her training to be the Perfect Weapon, from the to heart-wrenching torture in order to make her stronger both mentally and physically. Often punished for failure. Then came the faces of her assassinated victims. Each death powerfully relived to the relevance that the violet-eyed teen could very audibly hear the screams, feel their blood wash over her clothes and body, each one to the same horrifying degree one after the other.

         The Perfect Soldier was at a lost as far as even contemplating what Hotaru was suffering through. There was only one logical explanation why this method was being used and rather startling, it appeared that it was very efficient in its duty. To find and penetrate their breaking points. "Hotaru, don't give in! You have to fight it." Instead, Heero received no answer as tears streamed from the female assassin's face. 'Damn it. Prof. T is succeeding. She may not be able to last much longer.' 

*~*~*~*

         "Duo hold still or I'm going to end up poking you in the eye," the burgundy-haired girl ordered the boy whom she was applying eyeliner to. "And close your eyes!"

         "I still can't believe I'm letting you do this to me," Duo mumbled, shutting his eyes trying not to lean back in the chair too far. He was now wearing a long black skirt over his black pants with a sapphire blue sweater and a thickly padded bra underneath. His chestnut brown locks were now flowing freely in soft waves with the sides pulled back into a pony tail. Duo's long bangs were also pulled off of his face, gelled back. A silvery blue eye shadow shade graced his eye lids along with black eyeliner and mascara. Lastly was the rose shade blush before adding lip stick as a final touch.

         Examining the colors in her makeup bag, Deidra lightly bit her lip, pulling out three different lip stick shades. "Hmm, I think the Blood Rose might be too dark for you. Maybe if I mix Sunset Champagne and Burnt Sunrise together it just might work."

         Just then Wufei walked by doing a double take at the self-proclaimed God of Death. "Maxwell? Ha! Maxwell, appropriately looks like a girl!"

         "Wufei, don't make fun because I could very easily turn you into a girl as well. In fact now that I think of it, I found a bright pink skirt which should fit you perfectly! You have to shave your legs of course since it's knee length."

         "You-you wouldn't," the Chinese teen said, staring wide-eyed at the girl which announced she could very easily mask his masculinity.                                     

         Smirking Deidra replied,  "Try me."

         Nodding, Wufei merely walked away muttering something under his breath about the injustice of being threatened over clothes.

         A few hours later, everyone was ready to depart for the space port. Quatre was wearing a green pullover with dark blue jeans. His blonde hair was covered by a short dark-haired wig thrown under a black baseball cap. He was also wearing white sneakers. Wufei's dark hair was covered by the hood of his navy blue sweatshirt. He also wore gray nylon sweat pants with a pair of ratty sneakers. Trowa's hair was dyed red with washout hair coloring. His bangs were also gelled off his face. A beige sweater and light blue jeans with black boots was his new attire. Trista's dark green colored hair was temporarily dyed black and was now pulled completely on top of her head. A white blouse and dark blue jeans with her usual brown boots now clad her body. Deidra's customary wild burgundy curls were braided into two pigtails, hidden completely under a blonde chin length wig. She now wore a pink shirt much to her disgust and a black mini skirt which was even worse with knee length black boots. 

         "I'm Bambi West? That sounds like a porn star name! Someone shoot me," the ex-cat-burglar groaned, throwing a hand over her face after reading the plastic identification card.

         Raising an eyebrow, Duo snickered before turning his attention to his own card. "Darla Jones. Nice."

         "Lee Chan? It'll do," Wufei sighed shoving the card in his wallet.

         "Nick Richards? Okay I guess," Quatre shrugged, adjusting his hat over the dark wig.

         "Scott Winters. Interesting choice," Trowa nodded, turning his gaze from the card to the L3 girl.

         Placing her ID card in her purse Trista announced, "And I'm Jessica Knight." Quickly she turned her attention to the Arabian teen. "Quatre, did you set our reservations?"

         "Yes, we are due to depart in two hours. We should probably leave now." Blinking, the L4 pilot tried to advert his eyes from the dolled up Duo Maxwell. "Deidra, I have to say, you did a really good job making Duo look like a girl. He doesn't even look the slightest bit like a guy!"

         "Wasn't that hard to do. Maxwell had enough feminine qualities," the Altron pilot chuckled, receiving a death glare from the L2 teens.

         "Wufei......pink skirt," Deidra said warningly gesturing to the clothing box.

         Crossing his arms, the teenaged boy shook his head. "Too late. You can stop threatening me."

         Holding up another identification card, the green-eyed girl smiled. "I asked Trista to make another ID card just in case for you Anna Chan."

         Wufei stared wide-eyed at the photo. "I need to check our supplies." Quickly, the Chinese teen rushed away.

         Duo finally burst out laughing. Deidra knew exactly how to successfully win battles like a pro. Grabbing the makeup compact still on the floor he flipped it open, staring wide-eyed at his new appearance. "Wow! I'd date me if it weren't me!"

         "Just try not to talk Duo. We'll pretend you have laryngitis," Trowa nodded as the group headed out to the van. 

         Glancing at the now blonde-haired girl Quatre asked, " Uh Deidra, I'm curious. You didn't choose that outfit yourself did you?"

         "This? No way! Duo and I had a little agreement. Since I was dressing him up as a girl, he'd choose my disguise. Needless to say, I don't think he likes being a girl." The girl shrugged, grabbing a black back pack with her belongings which were hidden in Trista's car when the apartment exploded. "I have the suspicion, he also came up with my name too."

*~*~*~*

         Hotaru was lying on her back breathing in and out slowly with her eyes closed. The nightmare was finally over and she knew she lost. Somethings should never be relived and the torment and horror she experienced through her life was one of them. 

         Silently, Heero sat with his back pressed against the wall in the tiny room which he and the L1 girl were held captive. It worried him greatly that Hotaru had fallen silent a  lot sooner than he would have expected. He also wondered what exactly she had felt, seen, heard, whatever that drug affected. The Perfect Soldier anticipated the doors swinging open any second now. No matter how hard he'd try to fight them off, they would overcome him. 

         "Heero."

         The unruly-haired teen turned, unsure whether he actually heard his name or not. Frowning he glanced down at the girl lying motionless on the floor. 

         Swallowing thickly, Hotaru took a deep breath. "Heero. I want you to strangle me."

         "What?" Shaking his head, the boy thought, 'It must be the drugs. It's making her suicidal. It has to be.... but I thought they didn't want to kill us.'

         "Strangle me. Kill me now.... before it's too late," she ordered in a raspy voice. 

         Staring at Hotaru's pale face, Heero once again shook his head. "Why?"

         "Because they have defeated me. Iron Fist has won control and knows what weapons they can use to force me into doing what they want. I can no longer fight back." The violet-eyed teen paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Not to mention your friends will have a much easier time against one rather than both of us. Do it now before it's too late."

         'Could I do it? Could I actually kill her? Would I actually kill her?' Dropping his Prussian blue gaze down the floor, Heero studied the thick jagged crack on the tile. Never had he felt so torn. The situation seemed to be growing increasingly worse every minute. He had no idea whether the other pilots were still alive or not, or what was going to happen to himself and Hotaru. If the others weren't already dead, then they would be soon except by his own hand. Perhaps Hotaru did have the right idea. Then again, maybe not. "There has to be another way."

         Before Hotaru even had a chance to argue, the door swung open and suddenly Heero found himself trying to fight off five huge guards who appeared to resemble body builders at once. Two had him by the arms, One was kneeling on his legs, pinning them to the ground. Another had a fist full of hair with one hand and the other hand firmly against the boy's chest. The last one held The Perfect Soldier's head still as the maniac scientist made his decent into the room.

         "Oh shit.... Back off you assholes!" the teenaged girl growled trying to pry the three guards off herself who accomplished in keeping her on the ground. Gritting her teeth, Hotaru dug her short fingernails into their skin, but they would not let go, even after she began to draw blood. "Heero! Don't drink it!"

         Chuckling, Prof. T shook his head at his infuriated daughter. "My dear, don't you know that you can't always get what you want? Please watch your language. Such words should not come out of a young lady's mouth." Turning his attention to his next test subject, the man smirked, removing the cork to the top of the vial of liquid. "Your turn."

         Suddenly, the rancid tasting concoction was forced into Heero's mouth. Relentlessly he struggled to spit it out even after the man had covered his nose and mouth before hitting his throat. Unfortunately, a strong blow to his stomach was all the power needed to make the Perfect Soldier swallow before, filling with a desire to double over in pain. A moment later, that wish was granted once Prof. T signaled for the bulky muscled men to release the two teens. Without another word they left.                 

         Hotaru remained sitting on the floor, gently closing her eyes as she bowed her head. Unconsciously, she rubbed the blood on her hands, trying to remove its red stain from under her nails. 'Heero, I'm sorry. I think you would have been better off you had never met me. All I have brought you is torment. If you never forgive me, I understand.'

         Trying to force air, into his lungs, the pilot sat hunched over taking deep breaths, one hand planted firmly on the tile floor as the other clutched his stomach. 'If they are bringing the steroid induced guards in then Prof. T much be getting close to whatever he is planning. This is looking really bleak.' Heero thought, feeling a numbing dizziness in his head. Coughing, it felt as though he were forced to drink acid, the liquid eating away at whatever it touched.           

         "I'm sorry Heero," the violet-eyed girl murmured, knowing exactly what he was about to endure, and needless to say, it would hurt. 

*~*~*~*

         The six teens finally arrived at the space port, each with a bag as their carry-on containing needed supplies such as their regular clothing slung over their shoulders. 

         "I have to be partnered her?! Injustice!" Wufei bellowed, pointing at Deidra who merely rolled her eyes in annoyance.

         Trista was already growing tired of the Chinese pilot's bad attitude not to mention the fact that they were in an extremely dire situation. "Would you rather it be Duo?"

         The blonde wig wearing teen giggled at the question which finally silenced the blue hooded sweatshirt wearing teen. "Come on Wuffy, I'm not that bad!"

         "The name is....Lee." Suddenly a smirk appeared on his face. "Bambi."

         Narrowing her gaze Deidra glared at the name. "Darla chose it." 

         "Can you two shut up for one minute? We are really pressed for time," Trowa practically ordered as he locked up the van. "We are split off into pairs. Stay with your partner. If we run into trouble, our first priority is to make it on the ship no matter what. Be as inconspicuous as possible."

         With silent head nods, everyone headed towards the large glass doors of the space station, their only hope to save Heero and Hotaru as well as the entire world once again. 

*~*~*~*

         Inspection, check in, and even the metal detector were surpassed with flying colors. It appeared as though the six teenagers would be able to make it to Colony L1 without conflict. With only an hour to go, everything appeared to be very promising.

         Trowa and Trista sat next to one another in the uncomfortable, thinly padded chairs each with a magazine in hand, talking quietly to each other.                           

         Wufei leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, ignoring the green-eyed girl who was trying to sit in her chair wearing the little black mini skirt without flashing everyone.

         Duo stood leaning against the wall across from the Chinese teen and the cynical girl, waiting for Quatre to leave the bathroom. Suddenly, the cross dressing teen received some very unwanted attention.

         "Hey babe! Now that the weakling is gone, why don't you come with me? I'll guarantee you great time," an arrogant blonde wearing a black muscle shirt said with a cocky grin on his face to Duo who was staring dumbfounded at the teen.

         'Aw man! This guy is hitting on me! Where the hell did Quatre go? The bathroom, right! My dumb luck....hurry up in there!' 

         Leaning over the chestnut brown-haired teen the guy continued on. "You're pretty shy huh? That's okay, your beauty speaks louder than words."

         Just then a dark-haired guy approached the cobalt blue-eyed pilot. "Aw princess you don't need this guy! I'm the knight in shining armor that you seek."

         "These guys are losers! If you want a real man then it's me you want!" The red-haired newcomer exclaimed with a flash of his pearly whites.

         Duo swore his eyes were about to pop out of his head as he stood petrified against the wall. 'HEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPP!'

         With a sigh, Deidra adverted her attention from the black mini which she was despising, rising to her feet. Frowning, she noticed a rather large group surrounding Duo. 'Uh oh. Poor Duo. I guess I did a little too good of a job making him look like a girl!' Turning to Wufei she said, "Uh Lee, I think I need to give Darla a hand. I'll be back." 

         "Come on babe! Why won't you say anything?!" the blonde inquired as the jade green-eyed L2 teen approached the group. 

         The red-head grinned after seeing the girl wearing a pink shirt with a black mini and boots walking his way. "Hey another chick! What's baby?!"

         "Hello boys," the girl smirked before laying her eyes on Duo who seemed to be pleading silently for Deidra to get him out of there. 'I hope this works,' she thought, taking a deep breath. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" With a quick jerk of her hands, she shoved two of the egotistical boys out of her way nearing Duo who appeared to be plastered against the wall. "You see Darla, I have a confession to make." Bringing her face inches apart, Deidra whispered softly, "I like you." Closing her eyes, she passionately pressed her lips against Duo's as the three boys gaped with dropped jaws. 

         Slowly, Duo wrapped his around the girl's waist as he kissed her back, snapping out of his stunned stupor as Deidra encircled her arms around his neck. Blinking, the three guys finally left as the couple continued making out. 

         A moment later they pulled away. "They're gone. Hey thanks. I really appreciate it although you didn't have to," Duo said in between gasps.

         Laughing Deidra, wiped her mouth. "I saw they were coming onto you pretty thick so I had to do something. Sorry I did too good a job with your make up."

         "Thanks. Sorry that you pushed yourself so far. It was a great acting job though."

         A smirk lit up Deidra's face as her green eyes dangerously sparkled. "Who says I was acting?" Slyly she kissed him again to Duo's utter amazement.

         Pulling away Duo stuttered, "B-but Deidra! What are the other people going to think?! I mean I'm not originally a girl but you are and-"

         Giggling, she placed a finger over the chestnut brown-haired boy's lips to end his rambling before removing it.  "So I'm a lesbian. Who cares?"

         "So you were honest about the whole 'you like me' speech? You just chose this moment to express that?" Upon receiving a head nod, Duo grinned. He had to give the girl points for bravery. "Are you sure you're being truthful I mean you don't have to pretend. I mean I like you too, but if you don't then-"

         "Duo, shut up," Deidra said, before silencing him with a kiss. 'I have no idea why I feel this way, but I don't think you'll try to betray me. Maybe my instincts were correct fro the moment I saw you, I think I can actually trust you.'

         Glancing around Trowa frowned, realizing that the L2 girl was not sitting next to Wufei has she formally had been. Just then Quatre joined the group after leaving for the bathroom to monitor the building for any explosive devices and reportedly found no trace of any. "Hey, where's Deidra?"

         Gesturing towards the opposite side of the room Wufei muttered, "Coming out of the closet with Darla."

         Puzzled, the three other teenagers turned in the direction their Chinese friend was indicating only to witness the L2 pilots making out against the wall.          

         Staring in wonder, the Sandrock pilot blinked finding the scene rather frightening in an odd way. He knew the two would find a way to each other sooner or later, that was inevitable but the fact that Duo was dressed as a girl and Deidra didn't exactly look like herself either was least expected. 

         A brief smile appeared on Trista's face which quickly vanished. "We better get them. We have company." Briskly, she began heading in the new couple's direction.

         "What do you mean?" the green-eyed boy questioned as he followed in pursuit, the other two pilots lagged behind.

         "I recognize some of Iron Fist's cronies here. They're going to try to stop us," the girl answered, her garnet eyes flashing with a spark of distress.

         Tapping Duo on the shoulder Trowa quietly said, "We've got trouble." Those few simple words were all the L2 teens needed in order to snap back into reality. Wordlessly, they tried to cool down, blushing slightly at the fact they were caught by their friends. 

         "What is it," Deidra questioned, trying to fix her missed up blonde wig as she and the blue-eyed Deathscythe Hell pilot continued after their friends, concerned about what was wrong. Glancing around she winced. "Shit. Not them. Now what?"

         "You can raise your hands above your heads because all of you are under arrest."

         Slowly, the six teens turned around as they came face to face with several guards who began to draw their guns. 

         Grabbing Deidra by the wrist the long-haired boy cried out, "Everyone Scramble!" Swiftly he led Deidra towards the escalators. Trowa and Trista quickly took their own route to the find escape through the food court leaving Wufei and Quatre to once again team up and head towards the child care center.

*~*~*~*

         "Deidra wait up! This skirt isn't exactly easy to run in!" Duo shouted, trying to catch up to the girl that just passed him as he tugged on the restricting garment. 

         Rolling her eyes she replied, "Then take the damn thing off Duo! You're wearing jeans underneath!"

         "You try running and undressing at the same time!"           

         Just as Deidra was about to throw another comment, she ran face first into an Iron Fist moron who tightly grabbed her wrist. "Just what do we have here?" the burly man snickered.

         Suddenly two other guys caught Duo and began trying to beat him up. Unfortunately, their blows hit every time. 

         "Duo! Stop! You're hurting him!" the girl cried out as she fought against the guy holding her. 'That's it! Poor Duo can't fight back in that stupid skirt and you guys seriously have some nasty B.O! You're going down....and I'm really going to hate this.' Gritting her teeth Deidra suddenly released her clenched jaw only to seconds later bite down hard on the guy's arm which was around her neck. 

         Loudly the man screamed as the ex-cat burglar refused to let go, sinking her teeth in deeper until she was sure she could draw blood.  "LET GO OF ME YOU BITCH!"

         Suddenly, the girl found the object of her desire, a hand gun. 'These guys must now be headed as the new law enforcement. Oh well. I was always called a rebel, time to officially be one.' Pulling out the gun, she opened her mouth with a gag, and turned the pistol on the now bleeding guard. "I said, leave him alone or else lefty here is going to get it."

         Slowly, the other men back away from Duo who was curled up on the floor, trying to protect his head. Quickly, Deidra walked backwards towards the boy who slowly sat up, and took off the now torn skirt. Carefully, he stumbled to his feet and took the girl's outstretched hand. 

         "I don't know how much longer these guys will stay still. When I squeeze your hand, run towards the escalators. Ready?" Silently the green-eyed girl tightened her grip on the L2 boy's hand as she emptied the gun. Suddenly the two began sprinting as fast as possible for the escalators.

         With a single leap, they made it, riding to the safety of the lower level. Panting the L2 teens tried to catch their breath. Wincing, Duo gingerly touched his throbbing jaw.  

         "You okay?" Deidra thoughtfully inquired, receiving a weak head nod.

         "Yeah. Wasn't the first and sadly, probably not the last time I've pretty much had the shit beat out of me. What about you?"

         Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Deidra admitted, "I have a really bad taste in my mouth from biting that one guard, but other than a few bruises from my struggle, I'm okay."

         "You bit him?!" Duo exclaimed staring bewildered at the girl who merely smirked in response. Suddenly, the green-eyed girl's jaw dropped as fear shone in her eyes staring at the five grinning Iron muscle-heads who were awaiting them at the bottom.  

         "Oh no....up!" Quickly, Deidra climbed to the other escalator on the opposite side, heading toward the upper level. Just as Duo made it over he began pointing at a group of guards at the opposite end. 

         "Oh great," he sighed glancing over the railing. Exchanging glances with the girl who just threw off the blonde wig he said, "Think you can jump?"

         Pulling her braided pigtails off the top of her head, Deidra replied. "Can you?"

         Taking a deep breath, Duo took the burgundy-haired girl by the hand, as she jumped onto the railing. A second later he followed, and with a little help, managed to retain his balance. "1...2...3!" With one hop, they launched themselves off the moving railing, landing safely to ground on their feet. Soon they were running once again.

         "That was fun but let's not do it again!" the girl said she suddenly winced in pain before hitting the tile floor, face first. Completely knocked out due to a tranquilizer dart. 

         "Deidra?!" Stopping in his tracks, the chestnut brown-haired pilot, bent down and checked to see he could feel a pulse. "Good. You're still alive just sleeping." Duo scooped her up, and ran quickly towards the baggage check.

*~*~*~*

         Wufei and Quatre found themselves in the vacant children's center. This could be either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how they looked at the situation. 

         "Great, now what?" Wufei muttered looking amongst the various toys and small jungle gym for a place to hide.

         "I think they went this way!" a loud voice boomed, startling the two boys.

         Quatre's face grew pale when suddenly an idea struck him. Grabbing the Chinese teen by his shirt sleeve, he pulled him over to the large pool of plastic balls. Without a single word, the two pilots jumped in, burying themselves in the multi-colored pool of light weight balls. Silently, they sat at the bottom of the pit, completely motionless, awaiting to be found.

         The troupe of Iron Fist cronies raced in the empty children's area but found no sign of life. After a few curses, they left.                   

         A minute later the two teens surfaced, the blonde removed his wig hat and wig as Wufei pulled off his hood. Climbing out the pool Quatre sighed, "That was close."

         Nodding, his friend replied, "Yeah, but it's not over yet. We better get out of here."

         "Any ideas?"

         "The gates." With that said, the two boys raced out of the room and into a growing crowd, hoping they successfully got themselves lost in a mob of people.

*~*~*~*

         Trowa and Trista ducked into a long line at the food court, hoping they seemed to be ordinary customers in a dire need of a meal. 

         "We can't continue running or we'll miss the shuttle," the girl urgently whispered.         

         Nodding Trowa replied, "But how? We are being hunted down and everywhere we turn, there are more of Iron Fist's guards seeking to detain us."

         "I don't know, but I'm growing tired of running. We don't have too many places left to go." Pausing for a moment, the girl contemplated an idea. "Does your team still have their wrist communicators?"

         Darting his eyes around the room for a brief moment the Heavyarms pilot nodded again. "Why?"

         "Send out a coded signal telling them to meet us at the launching base. We're fugitives already right? We're going to steal a shuttle and go to L1 as planned."

         "Steal a shuttle?" Trowa repeated appearing rather surprised at the girl's plan. "I guess we don't have much choice. Let's do it." Raising his gaze to meet the Trista's he scowled slightly. "Damn it. We've been found out."

         "Great....Now what?"

         Assessing the situation, the L3 boy determined there were at least ten guards within the vicinity. "I'll distract them while you run."

         Shaking her head firmly Trista replied, "And leave you here? There has to be another way." Taking Trowa by the arm, she pushed her way through the crowd of people  and spun around, following a group of people into the kitchen. Ducking, behind a rack of bread, they hid for a few seconds before racing for the back doors where shipments were commonly delivered discovering that they had made it outside. Silently they crept through the night sky for their newly found chosen destination. The shuttle bay.

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: I think this was good place to stop. I was going to do a cliffhanger, but with how time has been going, that might have been a bad idea. So at least now you know they are pretty much safe. 

Sorry it took so long. Been extremely busy with school. Expect the next chapter in a week or two! 


	20. Testing

Shattered Reality Part 20

Testing

by

Sailor Janus

       Silently, Trowa and Trista crept to the shuttle bay, ducking into the shadows of an overhang. All they needed to do was wait for their friends and then take one of the shuttles by force, throwing out any passengers, pilots, and flight attendants on-board. This was a strictly non-hostage situation. 

*~*~*~*

       Wufei and Quatre raced through the hallway. It had only been a minute since Trowa sent out the message and the two teenaged boys were insistent on making the flight. The plan was to exit through the kitchen and make a run for the shuttle. Hopefully they could meet up with Duo and Deidra before anyone grew suspicious of the new course of actions.

       "There's the kitchen but where are Duo and Deidra? They should be here by now," Quatre said with a worried look on his face. 

       "Psst. Over here."

       Spinning around, they found a large sign leaning lazily against the wall. Upon peering behind the heavy piece of cardboard, it revealed Duo with smeared makeup, ravaged chestnut locks, a swollen nose, and a bruised jaw cradling an unconscious Deidra with her burgundy curls tied up in messy twin braided pigtails. Her left cheek was slightly bruised, and a tell-tale sign of blood stained the left shoulder of the obnoxiously bright pink shirt.

       "What happened to you two?" the blonde asked, staring in horror at the appearance of his friends. 

       Carefully, Duo stumbled to his feet, trying not to dump Deidra on the ground. "We were caught and had to fight our way free. Deidra wasn't so lucky and got hit by a tranquilizer dart. Good thing it wasn't bullet."

       "At least you two survived, Maxwell," the Chinese pilot said to Duo's surprise. No matter how much the two Americans annoyed him, Wufei had to admit, he'd hate for anything bad to happen to them. There was already enough stress over Heero and Hotaru. "We better go. Trowa and Trista are expecting us."

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru stared at her hands, wishing to anyone that could hear her, that this was only a horrible dream. She refused to even so much as glance at Heero. All she could feel was immeasurable guilt over the fact that she caused this. 'I will not hold it against you to hate me, Heero. In fact, I want you to hate me.' Suddenly she heard a soft groaning and closed her eyes, trying to block out the tears. "Yuy, are you okay?" Not surprising to her at least, she received no answer. Knowing she'd regret it, Hotaru turned at looked at the Perfect Soldier, finding herself gazing into pained dark blue eyes. Her mouth fell open and she quickly closed her eyes. "Heero, we can't take back what happened. We have to fight back."

       The teenaged boy remained quiet for a moment, pulling himself up so he was sitting against the wall. "How?"

       "I don't know. Somehow, I still believe death would be easier," the dark-haired girl admitted, dropping her head.

       "I'd have to agree with you." 

       Suddenly the heavy door swung open revealing Prof T with ten bulky guards. "It's time to start your training children. Say goodbye."

       Hotaru and Heero exchanged looks but did not say single word. They knew what the other was thinking and could feel the pain. Both felt the tears stinging their eyes, granted by the recovered emotions which were soon to be very likely torn away. Neither struggled as they forced to feet, knowing it was a lost cause as they tried to hold each other's gaze as long as possible. 

       Finally they were forced into two different directions. The two teens tried their hardest to turn their heads to look at each other, knowing that if and when they met again, things would be completely different. 

*~*~*~*

       "This way!" Quatre shouted as he raced through the maze which was a large kitchen, ignoring the angry yells and orders from the staff. Wufei and Duo who was carrying Deidra in his arms, were close behind. 

       "Winner, the door is to your right," the Chinese teen called out, running as quickly as possible, gaining on the blonde. Nodding Quatre shoved the door open and bolted through the exit. 

       The L2 teen dashed after his friends the best he could, cradling the unconscious girl firmly against his chest. Briefly he glanced down at her motionless features before gritting his teeth, picking up more speed, determined to save Deidra from what consequences would occur if they stayed on Earth.

       "Move it Maxwell!" Wufei shouted over his shoulder, racing through the back kitchen door. Abruptly he skidded to a stop, pulling the door open before it swung shut in Duo's face. 

       "Thanks," Duo quipped, running through the exit before Wufei joined him, nodding. 'Sometimes, he really amazes me.'

*~*~*~*

       Frantically, Quatre looked around for Trowa and Trista but found no sign of them. Just as he was about to yell out their name, someone yanked him towards an overhang. Glancing up he recognized the dark green eyes and dyed red hair. "Trowa! I thought they caught you for a minute there." 

       Nodding the L3 teen whispered, "Go get the others. We'll wait for you right here. We're hijacking a shuttle."

       "What?!"

       Speaking up Trista quietly said, "Don't be alarmed. We're going to let all the pilots, passengers, and flight-attendants off. We are not terrorists, so we have no desire to take any lives. Go."

       "I'll be back." Swiftly Quatre took off running to find the others as Trowa and Trista waited in silence. 

*~*~*~*

       "Where the hell is he? Quatre!" Duo practically, growled, adjusting the unconscious girl still in his arms as he turned a circle trying to find the Sandrock pilot. "He left us!"         

       "He'll return, Maxwell. Patience."

       Suddenly a familiar head of blonde hair came charging at them from around a corner. "I've been looking everywhere for you guys! Come on! We need to hurry!" Spinning on his heel, Quatre sprinted back in the direction he came from with his two friends racing at his heels. A few minutes later, everyone was hidden under the overhang, plotting a way to steal a shuttle.

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru found herself led into a darkly lit room. Glancing around, she could not make out what or who was in the room with her. She knew for a fact, that it was not Heero. Sternly she waited for her training or perhaps more appropriately, her torture to begin. 

*~*~*~*

       Heero found himself in the same predicament, light absent from the foreign room as he stood at full alert, trying to prepare himself for whatever he was about to face.  

*~*~*~*

       Trowa quietly snuck up behind a guard and quickly knocked him out with a sharp blow to the head. Quickly he grabbed the man's gun and snuck back around to the overhang where the others where waiting. However upon returning he discovered that Trista was holding four pistols, and Wufei had one. "How did you get those?"

       "I reduced myself to using Deidra's old tricks; flirt, and take them out anyway possible by pretending you are going to either kiss them, or ask them to inspect an injury," she replied, handing a weapon to the two blue-eyed boys.

       Snickering Duo said, "That's my girl." Glancing down at her peaceful face he added while rebraiding his long chestnut brown hair, "I hope she's going to be okay."

       "She should be, Duo. Don't worry," Quatre reassuringly said. 

       "We better head over there. The sooner we get to L1, the better," Wufei quietly said. The group of teens exchanged glances, knowing they had to pull this off, failure could not exist for this particular mission. They had no choice but to succeed.

*~*~*~*

       Trista crept towards the shuttle and hopped on the conveyor belt which was slowly carrying luggage on board. A few seconds later, Trowa followed. Once onboard, they rushed to the cockpit, and pulled their guns out. "Everyone, get out of the shuttle in a nice orderly fashion. We do not wish to kill anyone. Please leave and do not attempt to take any drastic measures. 

       Just then Quatre and Wufei, approached their friends, guns also drawn. "Please go," Quatre quietly said. 

       Sternly, Wufei, began pushing people out the door, and Duo carried Deidra to one of the seats and buckled her up, before taking the seat next to her. 

       As Quatre monitored the shuttle for any civilians, Trowa and Trista sat in the cockpit, figuring out exactly how to fly it. "Is anyone else left inside that shouldn't be?" Trowa asked over the intercom.

       "No, but there are a few groups of guards that are going to try to force us off. You better take off now, Barton," Wufei answered, scowling at the massive crowd of armed men as he buckled himself into a seat.        

       Nodding, the L3 teens took hold of the controls, starting up the shuttle.  Increasing the speed, they finally took off in the sky heading for outer space.     

       "That was actually a really impressive takeoff," Trista lightly smiled as they both breathed sighs of relief that unless, Iron Fist tried shooting them down, they were safe for the time being. 

       "This was a genius plan you had. Not only did you suggest taking a shuttle, but the one we were supposed to board if Iron Fist hadn't gotten in the way," Trowa quietly said.

       Lightly blushing the teenaged girl said, "Being trapped on Earth would not have done anyone any good. We need to save your friends, get the rebuilt gundams, and stop Iron Fist before it's too late. As it is, we are racing against time." 

       "Yes, we are," the Heavyarms pilot agreed. "Are you sure you and Deidra want to take part in this?" 

       "This was our destiny from the very beginning. We got this far, there is no turning back now." Taking a deep breath, Trista debated whether or not to do a move that was customary only for a confident flirt such as Deidra. Turning her head towards Trowa, she realized he was looking at her. Hesitantly she glanced at the floor, before meeting his green eyes again. Abruptly, Trowa leaned over and softly kissed Trista on the lips which she gently returned. Knowing they had a duty to keep the shuttle in the air, both pulled away with a slight red tint on their cheeks. 

*~*~*~*

       Just as the shuttle landed, Deidra's jade green eyes fluttered open in confusion. "How did I get here?" Glancing to her right, she noted Duo was asleep on her shoulder. Snickering softly she murmured, "At least he isn't drooling."

       "Deidra, can you wake up Duo? We're here," Trista softly said, walking towards the door of the plane. 

       "We're where?"

       "Colony L1. You were shot with a rather strong tranquilizer dart and were asleep through the entire flight."

       The burgundy-haired teen's eyes widened. "I was?"

       "Yes, hurry up or we'll just have to leave you two." Turning on her heel, the L3 girl hopped out of the shuttle. 

       Blinking, Deidra's eyes darted around the shuttle before landing on Duo again. Nudging him she said, "Duo, wake up! We're....somewhere."

       Opening his eyes he frowned at the rude awakening before he realized that it was Deidra who was speaking to them. "Babe! You're awake! Damn, that must have been one intense tranquilizer dart!" Cheerfully, he yanked his seat belt off as she did the same, before grabbing the girl by the wrist, practically dragging her down the aisle and out the door. 

       "Duo! Slow down! You're going to make me trip!" However, both teens fell silent upon exiting the shuttle, staring in amazement at the destruction and now vacant streets.

       "The suppression has already begun. Damn them," Trista quietly said.

       Quatre said, dropped his gaze to the ground. "These people didn't even have a chance. We have to stop this."

       "We will, Winner," Wufei sternly said, scowling at his surroundings. "They shall pay for this injustice."

       "Gundam Pilots. This way," a voice in the shadows said. Quickly the six teens pulled out various weapons, standing in defense against whoever knew that they were pilots. However, once the person stepped into the light, they relaxed.

       "Dr. E. Should have known it was you," Deidra, remarked, throwing one braided pigtail over her shoulder. 

       Smirking, he gestured towards an alley way, which the six teens reluctantly approached, following the man to a large underground warehouse which the gundams were now stationed at.

       "You have very little time left. We must test Deidra and Trista immediately through a training module,"  Prof I sternly said.

       "Tests? You never mentioned any tests!" the L2 teen stated, backing away slightly. She still did not trust the scientists.

       "It's a simple piloting module to make sure you know how to pilot your own gundams and will not die in battle," George explained. "Please walk this way ladies. We must make sure you still have the knowledge you need in order to combat." Briskly he headed towards a small room as the other pilots followed, curious as far as how exactly the girls would be tested.

       The room was metallic and split off into two different sectors, each which resembled a gundam cockpit. Warily, Deidra and Trista took a seat before sliding on a visor. Signaling for the boys to leave the room, they followed the scientists into a much larger room which had two different computers with what appeared to be a game on each screen.

       "How is that going to test their skills?" Wufei questioned, crossing his arms in front of him. 

       "It's a simulator. What they are about to take part in is starting up the gundam and dueling in a combat scenario much like what you have dealt with in AC 195," Dr. E explained as he started up both programs.

       "The gundams each girl is using is an exact copy of their own. Each mobile suit gundam design varies in different degrees," Prof. I stated when a smirk let up his face. "Excellent. Both young women remember how to start up the gundam and take off. Let's just see how will they do in an actual battle. You four might be surprised in their abilities."

*~*~*~*

       Deidra glanced around the cockpit and smirked. "Hmm, I think a remember exactly how to pilot this puppy. Just turn the key, press a few buttons, flip the switch, and it's time for the party to begin," she said to herself doing the actions as she said them aloud. "Hey cool. It uses my code too!" 

       Suddenly, Deidra felt herself lift up as the rush of flying at high speed took over her body. Narrowing her eyes, she glanced around her surroundings when suddenly a light began flashing. "Yay! Someone wants to play!" Flipping off her cloaking device, the L2 girl made her presence known. 

       Making a small face, she noticed the model was a little different compared to Deathscythe, which was the gundam she was trained for, but determined she could easily adapt. Instead of a scythe, she had twin beam bladed fans which could connect together to become one large one. Flipping the switch, the fans glowed with an eerie silver light. Firing a few times almost as if playing a game with her opponent, she swiftly, moved in for the kill. Charging head on, she did a quick spin, slashing across the chest of the Taurus suit. "And your ass is cooked flame broiled, extra crispy."

*~*~*~*

       With a calm look on her face, Trista easily started up with the gundam with complete knowledge, even though the model she was using for the simulator differed from Heavyarms, but she knew exactly what to do as she if were trained to use this particular mobile suit from the very beginning. "Hmm, I still have my homing missiles, and the machine cannon doubles as a staff. Interesting design, Prof. I." 

       Just then, the garnet-eyed teenager became aware of a mobile suit in the vicinity. Realizing that this suit was also equipped with cloaking, she quickly flipped it off and began firing her double-gatling gun. In the matter of minutes, the Taurus suit exploded.        

*~*~*~*

       The four teenaged boy gundam pilots, watched the girls' first battle with interest. It was hard to believe that this had been the first time they actually worked with the new gundam models.                         

       "They are really good," Quatre praised, staring in disbelief at the two fighter's maneuvers. "Deidra's skill are very similar to Duo's and Trista's are similar to Trowa's. It's really amazing."

       "Yeah, makes you kinda wonder about Hotaru," Duo nodded before realizing what he just said.

       Trowa glanced at Duo, knowing that the braided-haired teen didn't really want to mention their missing friend. "It is quite likely her skills would be close to Heero's. Their strategies and attacks I suspect would be very similar if not the same." Looking Duo in the eye he added, "And we will not give up on either of them."

       "That might also mean Hotaru may take risky measures in completing a mission as well," Wufei quietly said pointing out the negative aspect. "However, I do not think either have a death wish any longer at least. Just a sense of duty."

       Nodding, the pilots turned their attention back to the screen, as the scientists advanced the level for the two newest gundam pilots.

*~*~*~*

       Pouting, Deidra glanced around her 'gundam.' "Damn, there's no stereo system in here. Oh well. mental, note: Install one." Out of the corner of her eye three serpents come into view. Raising her eyebrows she stared at the suits. "Okay, these boys look tough."

*~*~*~*

       "You are putting Deidra against three serpent suits?! Are you insane? Do you even KNOW how strong those things are?!" Duo shouted, staring in disbelief at the screen. 

       Chuckling Dr. E reassured the braided-haired. "Do not fret, Duo. She can handle much more than that. Remember, her skills compare to your own."

       "Not to mention it's a simulator. She'll be fine," Quatre softly said. As Duo nodded, glaring at the approaching mobile suits.

*~*~*~*

       Deidra smirked as the three suits quickly approached. Her jade green eyes glittered evilly as she kept her gundam completely still, watching the serpents rush towards her. When they were almost completely on top of her, spraying her gundam with bullets, she jumped high, spinning and landed directly behind them. Quickly she sliced into the serpents with her fans before taking off to avoid the explosion. Bursting out laughing she looked down at the damage. "That's got to cost an arm and a leg.....if not an entire body. Too bad!"  

*~*~*~*

       "Damn! Where the hell did that move come from?!" Duo shouted, staring in disbelief at the screen. 

       "She is quite gutsy and does not seem to have any fear. Deidra is a Gundam pilot," Trowa noted before turning his head towards the screen where Trista was in battle.

       Quatre nodded in agreement. "Having these two young ladies fighting along side us, may better our odds immensely."

       "They do seem qualified as worthy pilots," Wufei admitted, having witnessed their skills for himself.

*~*~*~*

       Trista sat in her gundam completely alert, as she monitored the area for enemies. Suddenly three serpent suits came into view. As they neared, she blasted them with bullets, before using a few homing missiles on one. With the first two taken out, she turned the double-gatling gun into a staff, smashing it into mobile suit before firing a few missiles, destroying it.                              

*~*~*~*

       Typing something into a computer Dr. E said, "I think that is enough. The girls are ready and may return."

       Raising an eyebrow Duo stared at the man as if another head had sprouted up. "What do you mean that is enough? That's not even a battle. Are you going to try to get them killed in the fight?"

       "Duo has a valid point. They only fought four mobile suits total. Neither of the scenarios were too much a challenge. Are you for certain that is all the training they will need without dying in combat?" Trowa questioned.

       "You aren't planning on letting them die while fighting, correct?" the L4 teen inquired. 

       Sighing, Wufei joined his friends, "It would be injustice to allow harm to come to them if they are improperly trained." Everyone was surprised that the Altron Pilot was actually inquiring about Deidra and Trista's safety, but realized, after everything they have gone though with the girls, that they really did prove themselves well as fighters.

       Cackling Prof. I said, "Gentlemen, we rest assure you, that Deidra and Trista are fully trained. They could probably duel with you four at once and survive. That was only a test to be for certain they still attained their skills and both have passed with flying colors. They are ready."

       Just then George entered the room. "The girls have successfully stabilized the simulator gundams."

       "Excellent. Now I believe it is time to introduce you young folk to some friends, both new and old," Dr. E grinned, rising to his feet . Together he and Prof. I headed towards the door. "Please follow us, gentlemen. It is time for your given destiny to begin." 

       Exchanging glances, the four gundam pilots followed, each having a vague idea concerning their 'friends'.  Silently they walked into a huge room, containing the missing gundams as well as the two girl pilots who stood in awe at newest mobile suits.

       "Please listen carefully. We have much to tell you in a short amount of time. Iron Fist is about to unleash their highly advanced Mobile Dolls, Daemons," Prof. F urgently said.

       Crossing his arms, Wufei scoffed, "And just how, may I ask, do you know that?"

       "Because I have been undercover at their headquarters as a scientist. I once worked with Prof. T," George quietly said. "I was there during Hotaru Tomoe's training and also aided Heero Yuy in locating the antidote to the virus."

       "Wow, you guys really did think of everything!" Deidra exclaimed, pulling her hair out of the braided pigtails. This action however caused Duo to snicker because her long curly hair was now a huge poofy mess. Lightly she growled, throwing a glare at him over her shoulder as she lightly shoved him. "Next time you have to dress as a girl, you'll wear pink passion lipstick!"

       "Deidra, Shh," Trista whispered, silencing her friend as Duo pouted at the girl's response.   

       "Now I would like to reintroduce you to Wing Zero, Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, and Altron as well as introduce you to Ultra Violet, Dualblade and Timewarp. These are the Mobile Suit Gundams you and your comrades when they return, shall use built to perfection," Master M announced, gesturing towards their masterpieces.

       Each pilot stared at the Gundams, knowing this particular battle could begin or end everything. Only they could change events for the better or the worst.

*~*~*~*

       Hotaru was lying motionless on the dirty vinyl tiled floor flat on her stomach. The thick metallic taste of blood lingered in her mouth as sweat dripped down her face. She had been put through more tests that day than she could remember, each exhausting and painful in one form or another, pushing her past her limits. The last test Hotaru had to take on ten guards at once, leaving her bloody mess but she at least defeated them, feeling emotions begin to painfully be ripped away. Ten men were dead because of her and more were probably soon to come. Generally speaking, she would rather die than continue on. Death would be much kinder. 

       She couldn't help but think of Heero. 'He doesn't deserve to experience this horror again. Damn my father. I don't even want to think of what he is being put through right now. I'm sorry.'

*~*~*~*

       Heero was in a chair, his wrists were cuffed onto the arms of the chair with iron shackles as were his ankles. Gritting his teeth, he tried to ignore the pain felt from his last battle. A fight against ten large guards and only he stayed standing, and breathing for that matter. Those men died at his hands yet, he almost didn't care. Already they were succeeding in stripping Heero of his regained emotions. 

       Oddly he thought of Hotaru as a large helmet was pulled onto his head. 'She tried so hard to prevent this yet nothing could stop her father. To have that man as a parent must be maddening.' Sadly those were his last normal thoughts when suddenly everything went blank.

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Writer's block is evil! I am so sorry for this not having been updated sooner, but a severe case of writer's block, school, work, and moving will do the trick. 

I'd like to thank my good friend Mudpie for coming up with the name for Deidra's Gundam.  ^__^ I love the name!

And that's it. If anyone wants to see what Deidra looks like then go to my profile and click on my homepage link. From there click on OC and there she is with Duo ^_^


	21. Black Fog

Shattered Reality Part 21

Black Fog

by

Sailor Janus

         "Dualblade. So you are my destiny," Deidra murmured softly to herself staring passively up at the burgundy, black and silvery white mobile suit. The gundam was primarily white in color followed by a rich burgundy shade for the cockpit and feet with black outlining. What she found most intriguing were the silver butterfly wings, trimmed in black which at the moment were folded. 

         Duo glanced over at the girl, but she seemed to be almost in a trance. Turning his attention back to Deathscythe Hell, he recognized a few of the alteration which were made. The suit looked almost the same as the last time he used it except the beam scythe appeared to be slightly longer. Oddly, it looked a bit more menacing than the last time he saw it, as if the scientists decided to take the fact that he called himself the God of Death to a new level. The massive black bat wings, interestingly were outlined in silver and a deep red color that was almost the shade of drying blood. Grinning the pilot decided he couldn't wait to hear about the changes made to his old buddy.

         Trista could not remove her eyes from the huge mobile suit which was appropriately named for her. It was mostly silvery white like the other gundams and a hunter green with hints of blue. It appeared to slightly resemble Heavyarms, but was fashioned a bit different. The double gatling gun was a contrast as compared to Heavyarms, because it could double as a staff. The L3 girl knew there was much more to the gundam called Timewarp than meets the eye.

         Carefully studying  his former gundam  Heavyarms, Trowa silently nodded at it. It had the same exact blue and white coloring except with a black outlining. Interestingly, it appeared to have more arsenal than he recalled it possessing. 

          "Sandrock," Quatre gasped out loud. The Arabian's former gundam stood proud along the wall and like Heavyarms and Deathscythe Hell, its appearance was the same with a few modifications. The colors remained dark blue, and white with light gray, but strangely the colors were more prominent. 

         "Nataku," Wufei said with a tone of disbelief to his voice. The Gundam Altron like the others, looked very much like the one he had self-detonated years ago. The colors remained a dark green, and deep red with white. His twin dragon fangs were there as well, slightly larger and more fiendish looking than last time. 

         The teens also noted The fact that Wing Zero looked very much like it did two years ago. The colors remained blue, white, and red with large angel wings which oddly, seemed to be iridescent in color. It still had the twin buster rifle which seemed unchanged as well. 

          Strangely the L4 and L5 girls' gundams were covered up leaving Ultra Violet as the last Mobile Suit they laid eyes on. Deep Purple, blue and silver were the colors of the brilliant suit. It appeared to be well equipped and possessed a rifle of some sort but did not appear to be buster rifle, yet something completely unknown to the three Preventers. They were intrigued to find out what it was.

         "We see you seem to approve of our work," Dr. E said, focusing the pilots' attention on him. "We have much to tell you in a very short amount of time." 

*~*~*~*

         Hotaru allowed the guards to half lead, half drag her down the hallway. Her entire body felt as though it were crying out from agony. Every single muscle and bone ached so much she want to scream, but instead remained silent. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore. She knew she was slowly losing herself, caring less about what happened to others as long as she succeeded. A puppet once again and nothing more.

         Closing her eyes, she heard a door softly open and with one sudden shove, she was harshly tossed to the ground. Catching herself on her hands and knees, the teenaged girl slowly picked her head up. Blinking, her eyes widen upon recognizing the form of a teenaged boy lying crumpled on the cold floor. 'Heero,' Hotaru thought moving quickly to his body.  "Heero. Heero! Wake up," she said through gritted teeth, lightly shaking him.

         A moment later, the Perfect Soldier began to stir, rolling over on to his back. Blankly he stared into the face of a pretty teenaged girl with violet and dark hair with confusion in his eyes. "Who.... are you?" Heero choked out, slightly frowning.

         Hotaru's breath caught in her throat, choking her. Shaking her head in disbelief, she fought to swallow. "No.... They-they did not..... How could they?!" Drawing a breath she said, "Heero, don't you recognize me? It's Hotaru Tomoe. Please remember!"

         "I don't know anyone named Hotaru."

         "Heero! You saved my life, you have to remember! Please.... You were a gundam pilot and a Preventer. You have friends named Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei. You saved Earth during the Eve Wars in AC195! Remember!"

         "My name is Heero Yuy but I do not know of anything else you speak of," he evenly said as he sat up.

         "Damn it! I'm going to kill them!" Hotaru tensely pounded her fist on the ground, lowering her head. "How could he? "

         "We could not have any emotional ties now could we?" Prof T smirked from the doorway. 

         Picking her head up, his daughter's eyes filled with a rage. "How. Could. You?" Practically growling she rose to her feet and took off at a run for the older man.

         "Heero, stop her," Hotaru father ordered.

         Almost with lightning fast precision, Heero grabbed Hotaru from behind and roughly tackled her to the ground. 

         "No! Heero! Don't listen to him! Please wake up!" the girl shouted struggling against the Perfect Soldier but it was no use. Hotaru knew she was defeated. Dropping her head down to the ground she surrendered. Clenching her eyes shut the girl numbly shook her head. 'It can't be. Heero, you can't be under that bastard's control. I refuse to accept it.... but I have to. I have nothing left and lost my drive to fight. It's all pointless. I'm sorry Heero. I'm sorry.'

         "Heero, bring the girl to me," Prof. T said, earning a sharp nod. 

         Mindlessly, Heero hoisted the teenaged girl to her feet. walking her up to the scientist without even the slightest resistance, he was allowed to guide Hotaru to her father.

         "Very good. Follow me." Abruptly the professor turned around and marched out of the room, leading the Perfect Soldier who was escorting Hotaru out of the room and to one of the laboratories down the hall. 

         Almost heart-broken, the teenaged girl focused her attention on the tiled floor, allowing a single tear to fall from one violet eye. Taking a shaky breath, she choked back a small sob, briefly closing her eyes. Pursing her lips together Hotaru swallowed thickly. Momentarily her memories concerning all the time they had spent together entered her mind. Everything from her suicide attempt and breakdown to working on finding Iron Fist's secrets and comforting each other as they began regaining their emotions. 'This is not Heero Yuy.... he's gone.'

         Glancing up, Hotaru realized that she was now in a small lab. Taking a seat in the chair, she felt the iron shackles enclose around her wrists and ankles. As a large helmet was placed her head, the last thing she saw was Heero's impassive face staring back at her. 'At least we can forget each other together.' Finally, everything went black. 

*~*~*~*  

         "Each of the gundams is equipped with a cloaking device. Whether it will prove to be beneficial or not to battling the Daemon Dolls is yet to be determined," Dr. E firmly stated to the teenaged pilots. "You also have a lot more fire power, varying from missiles, to bullets, and even thermal beams." Turning to the four boys he addressed them, "Gentlemen, your suits are almost exactly as they were before you detonated them. Same weapons, and model but still highly powerful."  

         Speaking up, Prof. I said, "Ladies, we have constructed your respective gundams as according to your abilities. They are exact in comparison to what you fought with in the modules. You should have no problem operating them."

         "So can we go rescue Heero and Hotaru now?" Duo asked, with a hopeful tone to his voice. "I mean we have the Gundams again so there should be no problem. Right?"

         "There is a problem. A rather large one," a voice said from the shadows, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "We have made quite an unfortunate discovery." Soberly, George stepped into the let. "Your friends Heero Yuy and Hotaru Tomoe have both been taking under Iron Fist's full control. I fear you will be battling each other."

         "What?! But how? That can't be! They would let never themselves to be succumbed by Iron Fists' powers! "That-that's absurd!" Quatre argued, refusing to believe what he was told. It was far too awful to believe. 

         "How do you know?" Wufei inquired crossing his arms. "You have no methods to confirm what you are trying to tell us to be the truth. Unless..."

         Nodding, George said, "Unless I were a double agent. I formally worked with Prof. T as his associate. Once I realized what had happened to him after the laboratory experiment and that he was giving his allegiance to Nitol Stanz I followed along in hopes of correcting our mistakes." Pausing for a moment we took a breath, as the six teens patiently waited. "One of which was presenting Heero Yuy with the antidote. The other is the sabotage of the device used to brainwash both Yuy and Tomoe."

         "Sabotage? Does that mean the effects of whatever was done to them will wear off?" Trowa questioned with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. 

         "If I performed the actions correctly, then yes. The only problem is I don't know how long that will take. Keep in mind, the safety of Earth of the colonies must come first no matter the circumstances."             

         "We understand," Trista softly said as the four boys mutely nodded while Deidra stared at her shoes. Everyone felt sorrowful for the two missing team members, even the two girls who had yet to meet them.  

         Clearing his throat Dr. E said, "Now that unfortunate piece of news has been shared, I suggest all of you relax for the time being. Until Stanz releases the dolls, I cannot let any of you charge into battle because the prospects of being overcome are far too great."

         Quietly, the scientists went back to reinspecting the gundams once again leaving the six pilots to stand in an awkward silence. 

         "Man. This is a lot worse than we thought it was going to be. I don't even want to think about what the hell those two were put through," Duo snorted, feeling both a heated rage and a deep sadness. "How do we even know Heero and Hotaru are going to come out of this the same? They could be permanently screwed up thanks to them!"

         Sighing Quatre lightly said, "Let's try to hold on to hope, Duo. Once the brainwashing wears off as George said it would, they may be fine."         

         "Yeah, well, sometimes life doesn't work that way," the braided-haired teen muttered turning on his heel stomping down the hallway, crossing his arms in front of him. "I need to go and think."

         "Duo," Deidra murmured watching him leave. Briefly closing her eyes, she released a sigh. 'You helped me out when my memories resurfaced, now it's my turn to help you.' Opening her eyes she took off at light paced run after him. "DUO! Wait up! I can't run too fast in this damn skirt!"  

         "Maybe Deidra will help him calm down," Trista whispered as Deidra disappeared around the corner. "I think go I'll outside for some fresh air." Without another word, tall girl left the room in a different direction from the L2 teens. 

         The Heavyarms pilot hesitated a moment before asking, "Do you mind if I join you? If you do, then that's fine. I understand if you want to be alone."

         A tiny smile quirked across Trista's lips as she turned her head to look at Trowa. "No I don't mind. Your company is more than welcomed."

         Nodding, The two L3 pilots exited the Gundam storage room in silence leaving only Quatre and Wufei once again with each other.

         "I'm going to meditate," the Chinese teen gruffly said heading in a new direction as the blonde merely nodded at him. 

         With a shrug, the blonde went about the task of searching for weak points in the dolls as well as the task of forming strategies they could use in the fight. They had to be as well prepared as possible. "I hope fate is on our side," he murmured, leaving for the room, wear they had left their bags as well as Hotaru's laptop.

*~*~*~* 

         "Duo. Duo. DUO! You jerk!" Deidra shouted as she continued chasing after the Deathscythe Hell pilot. She was growing increasingly agitated because of both her inability to catch up to him thanks the slutty disguise she was still wearing and the fact that he was refusing to speak with her. "Duo, closing yourself completely off does not do any good! I have lost countless friends and family too." 

         Abruptly he froze in his tracks. "Yeah well, you never knew anyone like Heero. The guy set a bone in his leg back in place! He's practically indestructible so the fact that these Iron Fists low life's were able to put him under their control has me quite freaked out."

         "I understand, Duo. Really I do, but that doesn't mean we can't save him or the girl. We will all overcome them. We will defeat Iron Fist for good."

         Cobalt blue eyes suddenly shone with a new light as he met Deidra's jade green ones. "Babe, I hope you're right." Fixing his gaze to floor Duo rambled, "Deej, I know we kinda moved a bit fast but given the situation if you didn't mean what you said after all and were just the heat of the moment but really didn't mean what you said I understand but I'd like to know if you really meant it because if not then I'll accept it okay but you don't need to feel obligated to saying yes so you don't hurt my feeling and-"

         "Duo, you're babbling," Deidra giggled pressing a finger to his lips silencing him. "I meant what I said and doing what I did was a huge risk on my behalf because I didn't know how you would react. I just wanted to save you from those guys since it was partially my fault you got hit on." Removing her finger she thoughtfully inquired, "Did you mean what you said or were you too into the moment to think rationally?"

         Raising an eyebrow, Duo grinned. "Honestly? Yeah. Gotta admit you do look damn good in that skirt of yours." 

         Lightly slapping his arm, she gasped, "Duo! I do plan on changing again before we have to fight." 

         "Kill my fun," he chuckled. 

         Smirking, Deidra taunted, "Disappointed, Du?"           

         "Not at all," he dangerously grinned. Abruptly, he snatched the girl by the waist and pulled her into him. Delicately he tilted her chin up, pressing his lips against hers. 

         Deidra was slightly taken by surprise but returned the kiss with equal force, encircling her arms loosely around Duo's neck. She truthfully did not want to fall in love before going to war so to speak, but she could not ignore her emotions. Silently Deidra pleaded that they would all survive the battle. From the short time she had to become acquainted with Duo, he was the last person she wanted to see hurt. The little he had told her of his past, she knew he was traumatized by what he had witnessed in all his nineteen years of life. 

         Gently, Duo broke the kiss off contemplating what the hell he was doing. They were about to fight in possibly a worse battle than the Eve wars with only the six of them and already he was expressing his love. 'Good idea Duo. Fall in love and watch either you or her will end up dead. Brilliant plan!' he thought frowning slightly. 

         "Duo? What's wrong?" Deidra asked with a tone of concern to her voice.

         "Nothing. Don't worry about me," he answered turning away. 

         Sighing the girl closed her eyes, running a hand through her burgundy curls. "Tell you what. You seem to have a little thinking left to do so I'm going to get changed but I'll return. Okay?" 

         Mutely, Duo nodded, fixing his gaze on the dirty tile floor, not even noticing the sad smile on Deidra's face as she left the room. 

*~*~*~*

         Trista calmly stared out into the sky with a hint of wonder in her eyes. She often wondered how they discovered the technology to create the colonies to the point where the living conditions were practically as exact as if they were on Earth. Casually she leaned against the building, enjoying the light breeze that swept through her green tinted hair. 

         Silently, Trowa watched her, feeling the wind play with his long bangs. Ever sense she remembered her past, he often wondered what she had experienced and if it was nearly as horrible as his own isolated history. 

         Bowing her head slightly the teenaged girl dropped her gaze to the ground. "Trowa?  Do you remember much of your past?"

           "Not very much. I had no name and fought along side mercenaries for as long as I could remember throughout my childhood," he admitted, gazing up into the sky. "Then after my squad was destroyed I went to space and became Heavyarms' mechanic. From there I witnessed the murder of the real Trowa Barton, took his name and his gundam suit."

         Lifting her head the girl nodded, "Trista Mays is not my real name either. It was given to me." Drawing a breath she began to tell her story. "I can't remember much of my past either." Pushing off the wall, she took  few steps forward, bowing her head so her long bangs would mask her garnet eyes. "I was perhaps eight or nine when my two older brothers and I were taken in by some rebels. For exchange for food, shelter and clothing, I was given the task of cooking meals. I was also trained as a soldier after I debated their tactics which would have lead to a suicide mission. They were skeptical at first concerning who well my performance would be, but I never showed fear."

         Nodding, Trowa asked, "Then what happened?"

         "Then I was sent on a mission to relay information to another squad. When I returned, everyone was dead including my brother. From there, I stowed away on a space craft and went to space only to end up roaming the streets for a while and met a scientist, Professor I. It was pouring down rain, and I was seeking out shelter. He offered give me food and place to stay rather than stay out in the rain. I really had no choice so I agreed. I was thirteen at that time."     

         "I'm sorry to hear you lost your brothers. Were you close?"

         "They watched out for me. The pathetic part is I can't even remember their names. One was fifteen when he died and the other was twelve. I never cared about anything including my well-being after that," the girl partially whispered.

         Trowa looked at the ground briefly, pondering what to do or say. He knew she firm emotionless mask on, and had no motivation to let the slightest tear fall. Growing too close practically hours before battle could be a risky decision as well. Taking a shallow breath, the L3 boy stepped forward as well, gently placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Care about your life because I know other people do." 

         A small hint of a smile appeared across Trista's lips as she looked at the other pilot. Lightly she nodded, turning her attention back to the stars which seemed to shimmer though the sky knowing that Trowa was doing the same thing, his hand still resting on her shoulder.  

*~*~*~*

         Quietly Duo stared out of the small window, looking at the sky with his arms folded in front of his chest. 'What the hell is happening to me? I've been able to keep that damn mask on for so long and then she appears.' Tilting his head up, he took a deep breath. During Deidra's absence, he took the advantage to get changed himself as well as remove the rest of makeup which persisted to stay plastered to his features despite all the running around he did. Looking more like himself relaxed a bit but not nearly as much as he wanted to.

         Suddenly a soft voice turned his attention to the doorway. "Can I come in?"

         Turning around, he caught sight of Deidra who was now dressed in her black jeans with a light green long-sleeved top which seemed to match her eyes. The top of her head was crowned once again with the tiny braid which oddly seemed to push the rest of her hair from her face. Duo blinked for a second, but turned back around nodding, "Sure."

         Stepping into the room, the teenaged girl flinched slightly realizing what was wrong. "Duo?"                  

         "Hmm?"

         Sighing, she flipped the strange of hair from her shoulder and fingered the locket around her neck. "I'm worried about falling too fast also. Especially before we are supposed to fight in what is probably a life and death situation. I've lost a lot of people that care for me as well." Swallowing she whispered, "I'm afraid of getting too close as well, and I can tell you are thinking the same thing."

         Hesitantly, Duo frowned for a moment before spinning around to face her. Deidra was now glancing down at the tiled floor, one hand had brought the antique locket up to her lips simply holding it there. "Deidra, if you die out there because of me.... I don't think I can handle another funeral."

         Mutely, she nodded. Closing her eyes, she tried to fight for words, anything to say to Duo. "Then why does this hurt worse?"

         "Because we are trying to smother our feelings. We've done it so much that's it becoming harder each time."

         Raising her head so her eyes met Duo's the female pilot said, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but wouldn't it be worth it to simply give in that way if one of us don't make it back alive.... we don't question what could have been. We just have a moment to remember." Pausing for a moment Deidra smirked,  "And no I'm not referring to anything having the removal of our clothing. I know that was exactly what you were thinking, Duo."

         "Damn, Deej. You really have gotten know me too well," he chuckled while a smile light up the ex-cat burglar's face as she walked up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist in a tight hug, leaning her head against his chest. Gladly Duo returned it, encircling Deidra in a tight embrace, resting his head on top of hers feeling completely satisfied holding her in his arms. Deep down he hoped this would not be the last time. "Hey Deej?"

         "Huh?"

         "Thanks."

         Smiling she said, "You're Welcome."

         Duo nodded, smiling as well. "Hey Deej?"

         "What?"

         "I'm hungry. Think the scientists have any food?"

         Bursting out into a fit of giggles, Deidra playfully yanked on the boy's braid. "I don't know.  I'd hope so since we have to fight. Wanna go look?"

         Pulling away from the hug, Duo deeply kissed the girl before breaking that off  as well, winking at her. "You bet!" Grabbing her hand, he bolted out of the room, with Deidra in tow, laughing as they ran.

*~*~*~* 

         Wufei was peacefully mediating in a shadowy corner of the living room when the sound of laughter completely killed his concentration. Groaning, he slapped a hand to his face.

         "Hey Wu-man? You hungry? The scientists are gonna let us have some  soup to eat since canned stuff is all they have. Want some? It's almost ready," Duo babbled practically known stop irritating the Chinese teen.

         "Yep! It's chicken vegetable flavor. If we're lucky, it might even have real chicken!" Deidra grinned, earning a look from the two boys.

         "Uh babe? Please don't make me lose my appetite! I'm way too hungry!"

         "Well, it could have tofu chicken," she shrugged.         

         Sighing Wufei nodded, "Fine. I'll join you." Slowly he rose to feet with a look defeat.

         "Okay, Wuffy! The kitchen is that way. We're gonna go tell the others now, bye!" Deidra grinned, scampering down the hall with Duo now trailing. 

         Grumbling, Wufei headed in the direction of the kitchen. "Two Maxwells. What did I do to deserve this?"

*~*~*~*

         "Hmm, if we used the A formation if  it's a spread attack then we should cover more ground. Unfortunately we may end up having to split up. That will prove to be difficult."             Quatre said aloud, setting up some strategies for the battle.      

         "Hey Quatre, hungry? Soup should ready in a minute or so. It's chicken vegetable!" Deidra beamed, startling the blonde with her unannounced presence. 

         "ACK! Don't sneak up on me!" he gaped, nearly falling off his chair. Sitting up, he nodded, "Sounds good. I'll meet you in the kitchen after I finish this."

         "Uh, sorry. We'll leave you now. Still have to find Trowa and Trista," Duo winced slightly. "Do you have any idea where they might be?"

         "The last I saw of them, they were headed outside," Quatre thoughtfully answered with a small smile.

         "Thanks! Later Q!" the L2 boy said, taking off towards the backdoor as Deidra raced after him.

         Blinking, the color slowly returned to Quatre's face. "They are quite hyper at the moment." Shrugging he returned to completing the formations.

*~*~*~*

         Trowa and Trista's peaceful moment was suddenly shattered by the high intervals of their two loud-mouthed friends' voices. 

         "Hey guys! Want some soup? It's chicken vegetable, but don't ask me what it's really gonna taste like," Deidra chirped. Clearing her thought she mimicked a sophisticated world class chef, "A unique blend of oven-roasted white chicken, carrots, potatoes, whole kernel corn, diced tomatoes, and rotini pasta simmered in a savory chicken broth."

         "In other words, this might taste like shit but it's not our fault if it does. Care to join us?" Duo smirked, gesturing to the door.

         Silently the L3 pilots nodded, following the other two teenagers back inside the building.

*~*~*~*

         Hotaru slowly stood up with a blank expression her face. Briefly she allowed her eyes to travel through the room, resting momentarily on the face of a teenaged boy with unruly dark brown hair and Prussian blue eyes. Oddly he seemed familiar but the more she searched for him in her memories, the more he seemed to have little significance to her life. She was a trained assassin, her soul purpose in life was to follow orders and nothing more. 

         "Heero Yuy and Hotaru Tomoe. Your mission is to destroy the Gundam Pilots, before setting off to destroy the colonies. Do you accept or decline?" Stanz questioned his two new weapons.

         "Mission accepted," the teens side simultaneously, their voices completely void of all emotion.                                       

         Pleased with Prof. T's success in taking control of Heero and Hotaru's minds, the dark-haired man grinned. "Excellent. You'll be piloting the Perfect Suits. You find them to be quite impressive. They come complete with cloaking, two machine cannons, beam saber, and a buster rifle. Not to mention they consist of gundanium alloy," he explained, walking the teens in the direction of the suits. 

         Silently Heero and Hotaru faced the large gray, blue, black gundam suits. Slightly resembling the Wing Gundam, the held a great amount of intimidation to them. Without a second thought they approached the suits and got in with a problem, prepared to battle their forgotten friends.

*~*~*~*~*

         "Um, maybe we should have gone with the chicken and rice?" Deidra winced, stirring her spoon around in her bowl of soup. Nevertheless she still ate some of it, even though it wasn't exactly too flavorful. After spending much of her life of the streets, she had learned to appreciate whatever food she had, no matter how bad it was. 

         "Well, it's real food at least," Duo shrugged, spooning some up. He had eaten worse things before, so it didn't really bother him. The others remained quiet, eating slowly as they tried to keep their minds off the battle which could begin any second.

         Just as the six pilots had finished eating, a siren shrieked through the building. Exchanging glances they hurried off to the warehouse. 

         "Iron Fist just released their dolls! You must leave now!" Dr E called out to the pilots. 

         "Your suits also have the ability to communicate with Heero and Hotaru's as well as with each other. I made for certain that you had that privilege and there is no possible way for it to be turned off. Once you make contact, they have no option but to listen," George firmly explained. "Very important! The suits they are using resemble the Wing Gundam almost to a T. I did a little tampering but I also had to think of their safety as well. Their suits are also equipped with a self-detonation device."

         Prof I spoke next. "Once the effects from the brainwashing wear off and they are themselves again, send them here. I included the coordinates in your gundams' memories. They will be far more successful fighting with Wing Zero and Ultra Violet."

         "The Perfects almost were equipped with the ZERO, but George removed it, so you have one less thing to worry about," Prof F explained running a hand through his red hair. "However, the Daemon Dolls are programmed with both Heero and Hotaru's fighting skills, but amplified. Take grave caution when fighting."

         "One more thing. All of your weapons have been amplified and are much stronger than they previously were. Good Luck. We hope to see you all as well as the L1 pilots return safely."

         "Thanks," Duo, Deidra and Quatre said while the others merely nodded before reporting to their individual gundam suits. 

         "Babe?" the braided-haired pilot said, turning his attention to Deidra.

         "Yeah Duo?" she murmured, looking at him over her shoulder. Abruptly Duo approached her, sweeping her into a passionate kiss, wrapping his arms around her small frame. Lightly she ran a hand through his bangs, kissing him back before pulling away. With a small smile, caressed his cheek. "Stay alive for me?"

         "You got it Deej, but you better do the same," he grinned. Softly they pressed their lips together before breaking off the kiss for good and began heading in opposite directions for their gundams. 

         "Better believe it, Du," Deidra she winked. Then with a small sigh she climbed into her mobile suit, knowing Duo was doing the same thing.

         Wufei arched an eyebrow at the two, then entered Altron. "Never thought I'd see you again Nataku. Let's put an end to the injustice that is Iron Fist."

         Trista glanced at Trowa with a slight amount of tension in her eyes. "Trowa, be careful. We have both experienced much tragedy in our lives but now I don't feel so alone." 

         Nodding quietly he whispered, "Not anymore." Gently he brushed his lips against hers. "Stay safe. I want to see you alive after this is over." 

         "I will as long as you will too," she replied, earning an honest nod. Parting from each other, they too got into their gundams.

         Quatre watched the two apparent couples with a serene look on his face. 'They deserve happiness for once,' he thought, before turning to Sandrock. Quickly he entered the Gundam and switched on the intercom. "Is everyone ready for departure?"

         "Let's kick some metal ass!" Deidra grinned, switching her gundam on.

         Snickering Duo said, "Roger that Quatre, my buddy and I are ready to go. We'll teach them to fear the God of Death!"

         "Roger that Quatre. System's locked and ready for departure," Trowa confirmed.

         Trista nodded her head, "Copy that."

         "Everyone is ready, Winner. Let's take off."

         Accepting everyone's answer, the blonde announced, "Okay, departure in T minus 5....4....3....2....1."          

         As he said the last number, six gundam lifted off into the air, with six young pilots inside, each with a look of determination every evident on their faces. They knew their mission. Now the question was, will they survive?

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long but I've been plagued with an extremely bad case of writer's block! Anyway, this chapter I truly find incredible. I actually teared up during the Hotaru/Heero scene. At least I didn't leave you at a tremendous cliff hanger! 

I was actually eating the chicken vegetable soup when I wrote that part. It wasn't too good. I should have cooked up some ramen or something. Oh well. 

Don't forget to read and review and I hope you enjoyed this.


	22. Friend or Foe

Shattered Reality Part 22  
Friend or Foe  
by  
Sailor Janus  
  
  


Duo plastered a calm look on his face, but deep down he was worried about the outcome of the fight. 'We'll be battling both Heero and Hotaru.... Damn this bites. Why must we fight them? I don't wanna die, but I don't wanna kill them either.' 

"Duo? Duo, are you there?"

"Huh?" Duo blinked and glanced up from his cockpit then turned to the video communications screen. "Hey Deej! How's the flying going?" he grinned,  feeling slightly better at seeing her glittering jade eyes, wild burgundy curls that seemed to compliment her pretty face and serene voice..

"It's going well. You just seemed to have zoned out for awhile." 

"Yeah, just lost in a thought."

Deidra bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, whatever happens, happens. But I believe, we'll be okay in the end."

"Hope you're right, babe" Duo softly said wishing he could be anywhere at the moment rather than in a gundam.

Deidra smiled sadly at him. With a sigh, she turned her attention to the radar. Oh shit," she gasped with wide eyes. "mobile suits, dead ahead!"

"Uh, did you have to say dead?" Duo winced for a moment before shrugging. "Oh well. Let's go turn them into the soup cans they deserve to be!"

"Wait!" Trista shouted, preventing the L2 teens from charging forward. Rapidly she typed in a few commands to get a better look at the large metal army. "They seem to be splitting into two sectors, each led by a suit piloted by a human. I'm transferring the data to all of you."

"So? Let's destroy them all," Wufei scoffed from inside Altron.

"No! I'm pretty sure it's Heero and Hotaru," Quatre announced as he moved his fingers quickly over a small keyboard in hopes of linking  into the cockpits of the two enemy pilots. A  brief second later a flash of Heero and Hotaru with a very look in their eyes before the screen quickly went black. "I'm right. They're leading the Daemon Dolls."

Deidra bit her lip nervously. "Think we can handle them all? I mean damn that's a shit load of scrap metal!"

"That's a colorful way of putting it Deej," Duo chuckled.

Quatre examined the two armies of mobile dolls each led by a single mobile suit piloted by one of their friends. He knew it would not be an easy fight and hoped that any drastic measures such as sacrificing oneself would be unnecessary. 'Why must it come to this?' He sadly questioned himself. Pushing the thought away, Quatre studied the two armies once again. The total was approximately 600 Daemon Dolls plus two mobile suits. It certainly wasn't going to be an easy battle. "We'll have to split off into sections. Trista, Trowa, and Wufei will take the eastern sector. Duo, Deidra, and I will take the west leaving approximately 100 dolls for each of us."

"What about Heero and Hotaru?" Trowa inquired with a blank expression on his face.

"We'll have to do what we can," the blonde sighed.

"Yeah. Hopefully they snap out of the damn programming before anyone has to die," Duo said, hating the idea of fighting again to begin with.

"If we have no choice, Maxwell, then we have no choice," Wufei bluntly said.

Duo glared at the sound of the Chinese pilot's voice. "Yeah, well I didn't make any funeral arrangements for anyone so it won't come down to that." Smirking he added, "Now let's go do a little recycling." Immediately the Deathscythe Hell pilot powered up his scythe and charged ahead.

"Duo!" Deidra yelled before launching her Dualblade Gundam towards his direction to follow him. 'Don't you dare pull any suicide mission shit with me, Duo Maxwell or I'm gonna hunt down your ass in the underworld and give you a piece of my mind!' she angrily thought.

Quatre sighed, shaking his head as he put his gundam into gear and raced after his two teammates. Trowa and Trista silently decided they too should go into battle and sped toward the other group of mobile dolls. 

"This is it, Nataku. Let's show them the true meaning of justice," Wufei softly said before trailing after the L3 teens. 

*~*~*~*

            Deidra gritted her teeth, trying to brace herself as a shower of bullets assaulted her gundam. "Damnit. I just got this thing looking all shiny and new and now look at it!" Flipping a switch, she powered up her thermal fans and moved in for the kill, taking out three Daemon Dolls with one swipe. Suddenly, her gundam began shaking as bullets and missiles pounded against the hard metal. 'Good thing this puppy is nearly indestructible,' she decided, firing her own shower of bullets at the seven dolls.

            Thrusting the gundam into full speed, she rushed ahead, slicing more with her fans. "Ten down. A hell of a lot to go."

            Duo swung his scythe through another set of dolls. "If these things are equipped with Heero and Hotaru's data, then why are they so easy to destroy? Something's not making sense," he muttered with a scowl.

            "Don't know, but who are we to complain?" Deidra shrugged as she took out two more dolls. "This is too easy," she whispered pausing in thought "But why…oh shit!" she gasped as two dolls barreled towards her and blasted her gundam with an onslaught of  bullets. Quickly she spun out of the attack with a few scrapes on her gundam but was blasted forward as a low grade beam hit her in the back. Deidra shrieked as Dualblade jerked hard, throwing her head roughly against the seat. 

            Duo turned around and watched in horror as sparks flew from Deidra's gundam. "No! Deidra!" he yelled then threw his gundam into gear. Unfortunately, just as he neared full speed, a doll plowed into him, forcing him away. Duo narrowed his eyes and swiped at the doll with his scythe, but the doll dodged the attack. "Fuck! Get the hell out of my way!" Duo fired a missile at it, but that too was avoided by the doll. In rage he pounded his fists on the controls and blasted bullets at the doll. Metal flew through the air as it blew up, but another doll quickly took it's place, preventing the Deathscythe Hell pilot from helping Deidra who was still getting pummeled. Quickly he hit the intercom. "Quatre, Deidra needs help and I'm getting pissed because these fucking sons of bitches won't let me do anything! Think you can help her?" 

            Quatre looked at the fury in Duo's cobalt blue eyes and winced. Immediately his gundam was hammered with a shower of bullets, rocking him violently. "Oh no! I'd like to do something, but I'm having a problem as of now too. It seems these dolls know of our gundams' weakness and are using them to their advantage."

            "Wonderful," Duo sarcastically said. "So Quatre, what kind of flowers do you prefer on your grave? Lilies, violets, or roses?"

            Quatre grimaced. This was not a good sign. It was clear that the dolls may be more than they could handle not to mention there was still the brainwashed Heero and Hotaru to deal with. The odds were definitely against them. "Well Duo, you did say we have gotten good at winning losing battles so let's hope that still proves to be true," he said, slicing through one doll with his heat shoals.

            "Right," Duo snorted slamming the back of his scythe into a doll. "Hope the others aren't having as much fun."

            "Duo, behind you!" Deidra broke in as a large beam was shot in his direction. 

            Duo gasped and ducked out of the way. Instead, the beam hit a doll which immediately exploded. Deidra, Quatre, and Duo stared in horror where the doll once was.  "Shit! That was intended to kill me!"

            "This looks bad. Real bad," Quatre softly said.

            "No shit, Sherlock! We're gonna die," Deidra growled as she fired a missile at the doll which tried to execute Duo, but it evaded it and fired one of it's own in return, hitting the shoulder of the Dualblade Gundam. "Oh no. I think I found the mobile suit….and I have a bad feeling that it's Heero Yuy."

*~*~*~*

            Trowa twisted out of the range of a missile, prompting it to destroy a mobile doll instead. 'One for one,' he thought firing a missile in exchange towards the threatening doll, destroying the left arm in the process. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Timewarp fired a blaster beam at three charging dolls which immediately blew up with a shower of sparks.

            Trista gracefully spun her gundam around, and used the bottom of her staff like a club, smashing an offending doll upon contact. She narrowed her eyes briefly and was slammed by a mobile doll from behind. 'Where did that come from?' she thought as it blasted her with a spray of bullets. Timewarp shook violently then stopped. Trista looked up and found the Heavyarms Gundam shielding her from the assault. "Trowa," she whispered in amazement.

            "Are you okay," he softly asked, delivering his own attack to the doll with a hail of bullets. Moments later it exploded in a flash of light. 

            "Yes. Thank you," she replied. The brief moment ended quickly when several missiles fired by ten mobile dolls hit both gundams. The two L3 teens braced themselves and gritted their teeth as the sound of metal being scraped and dented echoed in their ears. "They're creating formations," Trista said in disbelief.

            Trowa nodded bitterly in agreement. "Yes, and from the looks of it, they meant to mislead us into believing that they were programmed to attack in one way when it's actually more sporadic than we could even imagine. Long range, short range, suicidal, even dog fighting tactics. Quite amazing."

"Will you two stop praising Iron Fist's battle strategies and give me a hand!"  Wufei grumbled through the vid. cam." 

            Trowa raised an eyebrow at his comrade. It wasn't everyday that the Chinese pilot pleaded for assistance. "Are you okay, Wufei?"

The Video screen with Wufei's image on it went fuzzy and blacked out for a second. Angry words in Chinese blared through the inner com. "No I'm not okay! I'm fighting 20 mobile dolls and Hotaru Tomoe single-handedly. 

"I'd think you to be happy about that, Wufei," Trista said as she fired a round of bullets at three dolls.

"Shut up. I'm almost out of bullets. I have no missiles left and my trident's power level is dropping."

"Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can," Trowa nodded and turned his attention to the mobile dolls surrounding him and Trista. 'Great. How are we supposed to get through these? There had to be at least seventy-five dolls if not more.' 

*~*~*~*

            Wufei clenched his teeth as his Altron took another blow from Hotaru. 'This is not my day,' he thought firing another round of bullets at the two offending mobile dolls. Suddenly his gundam violently rocked as a beam made contact. It appeared that Hotaru was toying with him, which did not speak well. He slammed his fists against the controls. This was not going well. 'I guess today is the day I'll join you Nataku.'

            Abruptly two explosions broke him away from his thoughts. Wufei looked up and recognized his saviors in the forms of Heavyarms and Timewarp. He briefly smiled and said a silent thanks. 

            Trowa sprayed the mobile dolls with a shower of bullets, throwing a missile in the mix every so often for good measures. He glanced to his left and realized that Trista was using the same maneuver. "Stay clear of the suit. We need to avoid it as much as possible until the brainwashing wears off."

            "Understood," Trista nodded. However, just as she switched to missiles, her gundam was thrown. She spun around, and tried to block another attack from the suit. Apparently Hotaru decided to target her now. 'She must have realized that she had weakened Wufei's offensive so now she's going to try the same with me then that way it'll be easier to eliminate us as threats.' Trista flipped back to bullets and made a mental note of the location of the Daemon dolls. "Trowa, I'm going clockwork."

            "What? Trista, it's too dangerous," Trowa said realizing which maneuver she was planning. A formation which literally looped one in and out of the center of the of danger, could prove to be deadly.

            "Trust me, Trowa. Watch my back," Immediately Trista switched her turbo on and sped straight towards the dolls. At the last second she looped back as she dropped several explosives in her departure. Shards of metal flew through the air from the twelve Daemon dolls. Quickly, she rushed back towards her two comrades.

            'I'll be damned. She did it,' Trowa thought. It was an extremely gutsy move, but it was pulled off masterfully.

            Wufei blinked in surprise. He couldn't believe anyone could survive attempting to do what Trista had just done. It was mind-numbing. 

*~*~*~*

            Duo's eyes widened as he stared at the mobile suit which Deidra had indicated was piloted by Heero. Fighting the Perfect Soldier was never good thing and usually ended up in catastrophe. More than anything he wished this was all a dream and that he would wake up any second in his nice warm be, but knew that was highly unlikely. "So it comes to this. "Deidra, get out of there," he grimly said.            

            "I'm trying but I think your buddy is dead set on making me dead," she replied. In a desperate measure, Deidra fired three missiles in the mobile suit's direction, but the pilot expertly avoided them and then shot Deidra's gundam with three of his own, disabling her left arm. "Oh shit."

            "Deidra! Damnit!" Duo cursed as he rushed towards her but was blasted back by five Daemon Dolls. "Oh this is going well. Quatre! Help her!"

            "I'm trying but I'm having a few problems myself," Quatre said through gritted teeth as Sandrock was being pelted with bullets.

            Duo growled and then threw a deadly smirk towards the mobile suit. 'Guess I have no choice. I knew I should have signed those benefits papers. I wonder what'll be on my epitaph,' he thought, flipping on the turbo. "Deidra, as soon as you can, back as far away as possible, babe."  

            Deidra raised an eyebrow and looked at Duo through the video screen. "Duo, what are planning? Please don't do anything stupid."

            "Sorry, babe. Just to let you know, you looked hot in that mini skirt."

            "If you survive whatever you are planning, you owe me big time," Deidra softly said as she blinked away her tears. She knew he was planning something to keep the casualty level down, even if it meant he would be the only casualty. Despite how he acted sometimes, Duo had to be the least selfish person ever. He always put others before himself, even if it meant his life. 

            "Dinner sound good?" Duo grinned.

            "Yeah," Deidra laughed. "And maybe a Scooby Doo marathon?"

            "Sound perfect to me, Deej. Just no Scrappy Doo."

            "Wouldn't dream of it," she smiled. "I love you."

            "Love you too, Deidra," he whispered as he powered up his scythe and charged towards the mobile suit.

            Tears rolled down Deidra's cheeks as she too switched over to turbo, preparing to back away as Duo asked of her.  However at the last second, she sped her gundam towards the suit instead with all the speed she could muster. 

            Duo watched in horror as Dualblade was hit with the beam cannon. "DEIDRA!" 

            Deidra's head smashed into the video screen as her gundam flipped and barreled into several somersaults towards the L1 colony, where it crashed. Amazingly enough, it did not explode.

            Duo pounded his fist into the intercom button. "Deidra. Deidra talk to me. Deidra! DEIDRA!" He waited for a moment but did receive a reply. Duo swallowed thickly and powered his gundam to its max then flew at high velocity towards the mobile suit. He didn't care who was inside, they were going to pay. 

            Deathscythe Hell threw itself into the offending mobile suit with enough force that the two suits fell towards the colony as well, landed hard in an abandoned field. 

            The mobile doll then abruptly threw the gundam off and powered up it's beam cannon.

            "Oh fuck," Duo cursed, realizing that he hadn't considered a plan of action if he did survive. He had completely forgotten about the beam cannon in his rage and it appeared that the irrational attack would be his undoing. Quickly he tried to retreat, but none of the controls were working. "Oh shit. You broke something vital, didn't you buddy?" 

            In the next instance a bright white light shone in his face, and became brighter as it neared. Almost immediately everything went black as Deathscythe Hell exploded. 

*~*~*~*

            Heero blinked as pieces of the gundam scattered everywhere. Something inside him told him that this was a very bad thing. "What did I just do?"

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: I am SO incredibly sorry for this being so VERY late. I was extremely busy up until well, now, finishing school, moving, finding a job. Life just got hectic but I'm getting better time organized so I should be able to get this particular story completed by the end of the year, I hope. Anyway, thank you for being patient and let me know what you think. 

SJ


	23. Frozen Tears

Shattered Reality Part 23

Frozen Tears

By

Sailor Janus

            Heero scanned his surroundings carefully, but still felt a large amount of confusion, wincing at the high-pitched ringing in his ears.  Where was he and how did he get into a gundam? He recalled even when using the zero system, his memory wasn't affected. All he knew was that there seemed to be a battle going on and there were a few smoking mobile dolls or suits on the ground around him. From the looks of the interior of the suit he was in, it was definitely not the Wing or the Wing Zero. 

Heero shook his head a few times trying to get the ringing out of his ears. The high-pitched sound was giving him a bad headache. Groaning, he reached his arm out to open the escape hatch but frozen as the noise became louder. In pain he hunched over and covered his ears. 'Have… to… get…. out,' the Perfect Soldier numbly thought. Without a second's hesitation he pressed the button and rammed his full body weight towards the door. Both actions however prompted him to fall tumbling out of the Iron Fist Perfect Suit Mobile Suit and crash to the ground. Luckily he rolled upon making contact with the solid earth, avoiding any possible damage to his body. Unfortunately the sound in his ears became so excruciating that Heero curled into a ball, muttering curses under his breath. Suddenly, everything went black. 

*~*~*~*

_            "How dare you, Heero Yuy."_

"What?"

            _"I'm aborting the mission."_

"What mission? What is going on? Why can't I remember?"

            _"I just want it all to stop. The memories of that day. The pain. I want it all to stop now."_

"What? What to stop? Why isn't anyone answering me?!"

            _"Make it stop. Please just make it stop."_

"What? I don't understand!"

            _"You're not going to like what you're going to hear, Yuy. Perfect Soldier, meet the Perfect Weapon."_

Suddenly, Heero was greeted by a bright light and a sharp pain in his jaw as the voice faded away.

*~*~*~*

            "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

            Heero's face was pulsed as another painful blow made contact with his skin. He groaned at the stinging as he tried to roll over to defend himself, but discovered a moderate amount of weight was forcing him back down. 

            "I'm going to make you pay, you fucking asshole! I'm going to kill you. You hear me? KILL YOU!"

            'What? Who?' He thought, realizing that it was an unfamiliar female voice that was screaming threats at him. He slowly opened his eyes and moved his head just in time before the burgundy haired girl's fist neared his face. He blinked, realizing that she seemed very pissed off and he had no idea why. Things seemed to be getting increasingly aggravating. 

            "So you're finally awake, huh? Bet you didn't expect me, the pilot of the first gundam you shot down to still be able to beat your ass," she hissed, staring down at him with pure hatred. 

            Heero opened his mouth, but was met with a slap.

            "I'll make you pay."

            He struggled to move, but realized he was both still weak and that she seemed to have a rather good hold on him. He tried to move his arms, but found them tied rather painfully, not to mention the fact that the heel of her boot was pressing against his windpipe. "I don't know what you are talking about. I don't even know you."

            The girl scoffed. "Then let me fucking introduce myself so you'll know exactly who sent you packing with a first class ticket to hell, economy package; the name is Deidra Robert and you killed my boyfriend. Prepare to die."

            Heero stared at her angry face. Her clothes were pretty badly torn and there was a large streak of dried blood across her face. Her thick burgundy hair seemed to be stained with blood as well, as the dark streaks matched those on her shirt. Judging by how she stood, she was still in a lot of pain. "I don't know what you are talking about."

            "Bull shit. You killed Duo Maxwell, you fucking bastard!" she yelled. Tears

 flooded her jade green eyes as her body shook. "YOU KILLED HIM!"

            Heero's breath caught at Deidra's very words. 'Killed Duo Maxwell? I killed….'            Abruptly images swept through his mind. The brainwashing, the fight in the suits, being kidnapped, the virus, Locked in the cell with Duo, locked in the cell with Hotaru, infiltrating Station Red, Hotaru infected with the virus, Hotaru's breakdown, Relena's death, Hotaru's infiltration of the Preventers, Comforting Hotaru, Kissing Hotaru, Falling asleep with Hotaru, arguing with Hotaru, Fighting along side Hotaru, Rescuing Hotaru. 'Hotaru. She's fighting the others. More deaths will follow, possibly her if not theirs. If Duo's dead….'          

            "That's it, you're not even listening to me rant. I'm just gonna blow your brains out instead and be done with it," Deidra said as she pulled a gun out of her pocket and flicked the safety off, aiming it at Heero's head. 

            "STOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"

            Deidra looked up in disbelief. That voice. It couldn't be. "Duo?"

            "Yeah, it's me, babe. Kinda," He lightly smiled as he slowly limped closer. His face was a filthy from smoke, as were his clothes. Blood stained his face and hands, and he seemed very intent on clutching his left arm which was more than likely broken. 

            "You're alive?" she choked, focusing her complete attention on him.

            "I think so, though I feel like I should be dead. Guess the Shinigami survives another fatality once again," he chuckled then abruptly stumbled, falling painfully to the ground.

            Deidra immediately dropped the gun and raced towards him, forgetting completely about Heero. "Are you okay?"

            "I'll live. At least I think I will, but why were they trying to kill Heero?"

            "Heero?" Deidra blinked in shock at the name. 'Wasn't he supposed to be the brainwashed friend or something?' Carefully she Duo sit up and brushed the loose hair hanging in his face out of the way.

            "Heero," Duo nodded gratefully.

            "Heero," she repeated then pointed to the pilot who was still on the ground. "He's Heero?"

            "He's Heero."

            "Heero as in Heero Yuy Heero?"

            "Yep, Heero Yuy Heero."

            "Heero."

            Duo chuckled and ran a hand through Deidra's hair reassuringly. "Yes, babe. You were trying to kill Heero Yuy, Mr. Perfect Soldier himself."

            "Heero," she repeated as if it hadn't sunk in. "But I thought he killed you. "

            "Me too actually, but I hit the eject button just before Deathscythe Hell blew up…. again." Duo then turned his attention to Heero who was still sprawled on the ground. "Hey Heero? You okay?"

            "Um, sorry, Heero," Deidra sheepishly said. "No hard feelings okay?"

            Heero stared out at the sky in silence for a moment. The ringing was growing worse in his ears and would have to be silence in order for him to save the others. "Hit me again."

            "What?!" Deidra gaped.

            "No, Heero. Don't ask her to do that," Duo said recalling the last time Heero told someone to hit him, which resulted in Duo being knocked out and thrown in jail.

            "Then you do it," the Perfect Soldier said.

            "What?! Why?!"

            "Remember the programming Hotaru was under when we first met her? It's a bit different this time around. We need to bust the chip with a blow to my head. Deidra almost dislodged it when she was punching me. I need another one to force it out."

            Deidra blinked. "You mean I did a good thing?"

"Yes, now either one or both of you hit me."             

            Duo and Deidra exchanged glances in speculation the both. Deidra gently helped her boyfriend to his feet and both approached the still down, Perfect Soldier. "You sure about this, buddy?" Duo inquired, still unsure whether or not to follow Heero's orders. Another blow to the head might do more damage than good.

            "Shut up and do it," Heero growled.

            "Okay, you asked for it," the braided-haired pilot sighed when a split second later, Deidra lashed out and threw a fist hard to Heero's face.  Duo blinked and looked in shock at the girl.

            Deidra shrugged and rubbed her sore hand. "He nearly killed me and you too not to mention my gundam which I just got is completely totaled. Of course same goes for yours. Okay, I had a little tension I had to get off my chest." She paused for a moment and winced at Heero. "You don't think I hit him too hard do you? I mean I wasn't trying to but, well, another force took over I guess."

            "Don't know, babe," Duo winced, waiting for a reaction from his comrade.

            Heero then began to cough violent and shook his head hard. Suddenly a crumpled piece of metal fell out of his ear and on to the floor. "Good Job." Without another word he broke free of his bonds and rose to his feet. "Where are the others?"

            "Still fighting the dolls and Hotaru who is probably still brainwashed," Duo replied. 

            Suddenly Deidra screamed as a high pitched noise rang in her left ear. The other two pilots looked at her in warning as she cursed and removed something from her ear. "Son of a bitch that HURT!"

            "Deidra?" Duo said in question as to why she had something in her ear. Was he being duped all the long?

            Deidra glanced up and realized what they were thinking. "Chill. This links me to Trista, so we can keep track of each other if we need help. Much better than a walkie-talkie if you ask me except for on thing. IT FUCKING HURTS WHEN THE FEED IS LOST AND SOUNDS LIKE A DAMN EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM!" 

Duo watched as Deidra paced in circles trying to get the hearing in her left ear to start working again. He felt bad for her but decided she'd be okay. He then turned to Heero who had picked up the ear piece and was now examining it.  "So, what now?"

            Heero was about to answer when the sound became extremely high pitched before a familiar voice screeched through.

            "MAYDAY. WE HAVE HIT CRITICAL," Quatre's voice shouted from the other line. 

            "Shit. What is going on up there?" Deidra said, her green eyes wide in warning. "What if they…"

            Duo took her hand and shook his head. "Shh, don't think like that, Deej. Everything will be okay."

            Mutely she nodded, trying to push back her tears. 

            "Hotaru," Heero softly said. He then glanced at the couple and said, "We need communication with them."

            Deidra sighed. "The speaking feature busted in the crash. I'm lucky that's all that did though."

            "What are we going to do?" Duo inquired. 

            Silently Heero turned on his heel and stalked up to the Perfect Gundam. He quickly climbed back inside and began tampering with the intercom and communication grids. There had to be someway to rewire the system so that it would be on the same channel as the other gundam pilots. 

            "TRISTA DON'T DO IT!" a voice shouted from the ear piece.

            Deidra stared at the tiny device in horror. "Trista? What's going on up there?!"

            Moments later a light flashed in the sky and an extremely large object crashed to the ground several miles away.  

            Deidra fell to her knees as the ground shock and gaped in terror realizing that more than likely, it was Timewarp that crashed to the ground. A brief second later an explosion rumbled through the air as a fiery blast emitted from the location of the crash. "No," Deidra whimpered as she began to sob. "Trista…"

            Duo looked at her, not knowing what to say. He knew the odds were still against them even with Heero back to his old self. Instead he sat on the ground and wrapped his arms around Deidra, tucking his chin on her head trying to comfort her as they stared at the building fire.

*~*~*~*

            Trowa blinked as his eyes began tearing up. He tried to warn her, but Trista wouldn't listen. Instead she was brutally shot down by Hotaru. At this point, he found himself unable to do anything but replay the events in his head over and over. 

*~*~*~*

            Trowa silently cursed as the low ammunition signal appeared. So far he and Trista were able to keep the pilot in the Perfect Suit from doing any really serious damage. Their main tactic was staying on a very thin line between defensive and offensive as Quatre and Wufei battled the dolls. This was the only real way to be sure that both parties would have even a slim chance of making it out of the battle alive. 

_            "Trowa. Trowa do you read me?"_

_            The Heavyarms pilot blinked then nodded. "Loud and clear."_

_            "The low ammunition button has flashed. What about yours?" Trista questioned._

_            Trowa sighed. "Same. But there isn't much else we can do."_

_            "Fight until we run out? Then what?"_

_            He didn't want to even consider the results of being out of ammunition completely. "We'll just have to think of something."_

_            Trista nodded then paused for a moment in thought. "What about doing the same thing I did earlier? It might give us the opportunity we need to bring Hotaru back to her senses."_

_            "No, don't even think of it. I've seen her fight and if she realizes what you plan on doing, she won't hesitate to eliminate you," Trowa argued._

_            "Yes, but given the circumstances, I doubt she would expect it and won't have enough time to react. It's the only way."_

_            "Trista, no. It's suicide, you can't,"  Trowa said, nearly shouting._

_            The Timewarp pilot however wouldn't hear any of it. She gave Trowa a tiny smile and began to power up her boasters. "Trowa, I'm a gundam pilot. I have no fear, and it's my duty to risk everything for the better of the world. Don't you see? We have a purpose and it's to make sure that Iron Fist succeeds."_

_            "Trista…"_

_            "Don't try to stop me or I'll be forced to retaliate," she warned him before she turned the boasters on and speed towards Hotaru's suit. At the last second, she pummeled her opponent with the last of her ammunition. Oddly, the other suit did not fight back._

_            Suddenly, Timewarp was out of all possible options to fight other than its staff. Unfortunately, this was the moment that Hotaru began her attack, showering the gundam with bullets and missiles before turning the beam cannon in its direction._

_            Trowa watched in horror as the powerful beam struck Trista head on before she could even react. A split second later the gundam lost all power and crashed._

_            "TRISTA!"_

_*~*~*~*_

Trowa shook his head and glared in the direction of Hotaru's Perfect Suit before he descended to the ground below. Trista was a fool for doing such a dangerous stunt but he had to be certain that she was still alive.

            Just as he reached the ground however, a large explosion disrupted his train of thought, prompting his gundam to lurch in the landing process, falling heavily on its back. Nevertheless, Trowa quickly exited his gundam and ran in the direction of the explosion. He had to find her, no matter what.

*~*~*~*

            Heero glanced out of the window at the fire and growled, "Fuck." Everything was going very wrong but he refused to let Iron Fist win. He wanted to make them pay for everything they had done to Hotaru, him, everyone. And he would make for certain that they would pay dearly. He quickly turned back to his work and continued rearranging wires. The only way to prevent a blood bath was by making communication with his friends. The sooner, the better.

            'This better do it,' he thought, replacing the cover. Taking a seat, he turned the vid. comm. on. "Is anyone reading me?"    

            "Heero?" Quatre said in bewilderment at the sight of his formally brainwashed comrade.  "Is that really you?"

            "Yes. Descend immediately. That's an order."

            Just then Wufei appeared on the screen and scoffed. "How do we know it's really you?"

            Heero glared. "Get. Down. Here. Now."

            Wufei snorted. "Welcome back, Yuy. Any reason why?"

            "I want to keep the death toll low, now get down here."

            "What about Hotaru?" Quatre questioned.

            "She'll descend on her own. Of that I am certain. Ignore the dolls. They're meaningless," Heero replied.

            "Roger, that. See you soon, Heero, and uh, welcome back,"  Quatre nodded before turning off his link. 

            Wufei simply nodded and followed suit.

Heero drew a breath and climbed out of the Perfect Suit. If he could figure out someway to break Hotaru free of the brainwashing, they might have a chance. "She should be here any second." 

            "Who?" Duo softly asked looking up at Heero. Deidra's finally quieted down, despite the fact that tears continued to run down her cheeks. Duo gently rubbed her back as she buried her face in his chest. 

            "Hotaru."

            "Great, so now we can all die!" Deidra lamented, her voice slightly muffled.

            "Shhhh, we're not gonna die, Deej," Duo soothingly said.

            Deidra shook her head. "But Trista did!"

            "We don't know that. There is a chance that she survived," Heero emotionlessly stated.

"Right! I mean, she is a gundam pilot and for some reason it's pretty hard to kill a gundam pilot so she might still be alive!" Duo cheerfully said.

            Deidra smiled lightly. "I suppose you guys could be right."

            "We're like the cockroaches of the ant hill!" 

            Heero smacked Duo upside the head. "Bad analogy."

            "VERY bad," Deidra gagged.

            Duo chuckled as he rubbed his head. "Yeah, but if that's true then we could survive a nuclear holocaust."

            Deidra shivered. "I don't even want to think about that."

            "Sorry, babe," Duo softly said as he hugged her. 

            Heero felt a twang of resentment towards the couple but didn't voice his feelings. Instead he looked at the sky just as a strong wind picked up. "She's here."

            Deidra and Duo scrambled to their feet as they took turned their attentions to the sky.

            "How do you know that it's her and not Wufei or Quatre?" Deidra inquired as she struggled to keep her long hair from flying in her face.

            Heero didn't respond but instead walked towards a clearing. Duo watched him and shrugged, "I guess there are somethings you just know."

            "Does that mean you knew when I was coming when you guys first met Trista and I?"

            "Not exactly, But you did make me fall head over heels," Duo winked.

            Deidra blushed. "Very funny."

            Heero cleared his throat as he looked up into the sky. The two L2 teens stood up and followed him, both focusing on the sky as well.

            "Um, Heero? Are we still in danger?" Deidra question with a tone of weariness in her voice. "I mean is she still going to try to kill us or is her brainwashing gone too?"

            "Yes."

            "Yes to what?" the burgundy-haired girl asked , but knew she would shortly receive her answer as a large mobile suit landed in front of them. 

            "Hotaru," Heero said, focusing his gaze on the suit and Duo and Deidra nervously crept back. 

            "Target-locked on sight," Hotaru said, taking aim of Duo and Deidra. At that moment Heero stood in front of the couple, shielding them. Hotaru growled. "Perfect Soldier, remove yourself from this vicinity immediately or I'll be forced to execute you."

            Heero shook his head. "No."

            Duo and Deidra exchanged glances and then looked from the suit to Heero pondering who he was talking to.

            "Heero?" Duo said in question.

            "Shut up, Duo. I'm speaking to Hotaru through Deidra's communication device."

            "But it was broken," Deidra began.

            "I fixed it."

            Deidra inched closer to Duo. "I don't like this."

            "Both of you stay behind me," Heero ordered. The two targets looked at each other in fear, but obeyed.

            "I repeat, Yuy. Remove yourself now. That is your last warning. Stanz will not be happy with your treason but I'll see to a light punishment for you. Is that understood?" Hotaru emotionlessly said from the Perfect Suit.

            "Then push the button," Heero robotically said.

            "WHAT?!" Duo gaped as Deidra huddled closer to him.

            Hotaru blinked. "Yuy, it doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to die. You are not my enemy, they are."

            "If they are your enemy, then so am I," Heero said without a bat of an eye. "I'm prepared to die if you are willing to grant it."

            "We're gonna die," Deidra sobbed, burying her face in Duo's shoulder. 

            Duo held her closer and rubbed her back. "It'll be okay, Deej… I hope."

            "You hope?" Deidra weakly said.

            "Well, at least no matter what happens we'll be together."

            "Yeah, you're right, "Deidra softly agreed. "But I'd rather it be in life rather than death."

            "Me too."

            Hotaru stared at Heero with a sense of bewilderment. She didn't understand why but she felt torn between duty and her own heart? She wasn't sure. The more she tried to think, the more her head hurt. "Then this is goodbye," she whispered, pressing her finger down hard on the button which would set off the buster cannon.

Heero deathly nodded. "Do it, Firefly. Kill me now."

Hotaru blinked at the nickname but shook it off. She cleared her throat and focused on the group. "My orders are to… my orders …." She paused and shook her head harder. Something was very wrong. Why was she unable concentrate? "My …. orders…. no…. my orders are…."She gritted her teeth as her head began pounding. "my orders…damnit." Hotaru pounded her other fist against the chair. What was wrong with her? Her breathing increased and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "Damnit."

"Firefly?" Heero said in question at her sudden confusion. He could only hope that the brainwashing device was malfunctioning.

Hotaru's eyes immediately opened and almost automatically she aimed and fired.

Deidra screamed as she saw the blast head towards their direction and quickly huddled against Duo. 

A few seconds later a loud explosion rang through their ears and a very confused L2 girl looked up in speculation. "Why aren't we dead?"

"Hotaru shot a doll that landed behind us," Duo explained with a grin.

"So she's no longer insane?"

"Don't know. Let's hope not," Duo replied, looking up at the Perfect Mobile Suit.

"Shit," Heero said as he quickly tore the ear piece off. 

Duo and Deidra looked at him in curiosity. "She's okay right, man?" Duo questioned.

"She's completely pissed. Stay on your toes. There's no telling what she will do with the amount of rage she has now."

"Oh great. Out of the oven and into the fryer," Duo sighed as she eyed the Perfect Mobile Suit.

*~*~*~*

            Hotaru's respiration rate increased as her entire body seemed to pulse with electricity. Her violet eyes darkened as she roared with anger and pure hatred over those who had used her. She bowed her head forward as she closed her eyes. This had gone on far too long.  Someone had to pay. 

            "Hotaru?" Heero's voice said in question through her innercom.

            Without a single word Hotaru reached over and disconnected the wire.  Silence soon filled the entire of the mobile suit. Her head felt light as she trailed her hands to the controls. With a small flick of her wrist, the mobile suit returned to life, it's deathly gaze fastened on the three comrades at its feet.

Deidra's eyes widened in fear as Duo clutched onto her shoulders, both in protection and to stabile himself since walking was still a bit tricky. 

Heero growled slightly in annoyance as he pondered just what the hell Hotaru was going to do.

Suddenly the suit flew up and spun around firing several as soared higher. The other three pilots threw themselves to the ground. Just as quickly as the commotion occurred it, the area was peaceful once again.

"Ow. Why oh why did she have to shoot BEFORE reaching the dolls?" Duo groaned as lifted his head from the ground. "Why am I always around all these hotshot people?!"

"Um, Duo? Aren't you a hotshot yourself?" Deidra said, trying to stifle a giggle.

"Yeah, but that's beside the point!" Duo argued back. He his head but frowned when he realized that the Perfect Soldier was nowhere in sight. "Heero? Now where is he?!"

Abruptly the sound of a mobile suit powering up gave the L2 teen his answer.

Duo quickly scrambled to his feet and stared in bewilderment as the suit took off. "Shit! Well, that answers that!"

"Where is he going?" Deidra inquired as she shoved her curls from her face. 

"My guess, wherever Hotaru is going."

Suddenly a very large explosion shook the ground as shrapnel rained down upon the two teens.

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: Well closer to being done. Unfortunately this chapter is by my standards is late. I had a Christmas chapter planned for the very last one which was supposed to be out Christmas day but I ended up with the flu which sucked all my energy and concentration out. However, regardless of the fact that the holiday is over, I'm going to write it anyway and you will understand why. So yes, there is only two more chapters left of this story with a sequel to follow later on. Until then….


	24. Journey's End

Shattered Reality Part 24

Journey's End

By

Sailor Janus

Deidra stared in horror at the sky as more fragments of the Perfect Suit rained down upon then them. Her jade green eyes were wide with disbelief and terror, but no matter how badly she wanted to, she could not find her voice to say a word or even scream.

"Deidra!" Duo yelled, trying to catch her attention before he shoved her hard to the left, protecting her from being crushed by the dismembered hand that was crashing to the ground. Heero's Perfect Suit however, blocked it, shoving it haphazardly in the opposite direction.

The burgundy haired girl fell to the hard earth and looked up in fear. She turned her gaze from the hand to Duo who was kneeling next to her as Heero landed his suit a short distance from them and climbed out. "Duo."

The braided haired teen gave her a small smile despite the pain which was shooting through his left leg. Deidra crawled closer to him, and allowed for him to lean on her to take some of the pressure off his injury. Despite the thunder-like crashing of the pieces of the destroyed mobile suit, the two teens could hear Heero mutter curses as he glared at the sky. "Heero?"

The Perfect Soldier didn't answer. Instead he stood motionlessly as if waiting for something.

"She didn't self-destruct, did she?" Deidra softly asked, after a moment of hesitation.

"Yes," Heero replied, his voice void of emotion. "But whether it was her decision, I don't know."

"Somehow, I think not," Duo shakily said as he stumbled to his feet then began pulling Deidra to hers as well.

"Why?" Deidra asked, close to tears.

Duo gulped and pointed to Heero's Perfect Suit. "Because correct me if I'm wrong, but the other suit is gonna blow too."

Deidra and Heero whipped their heads and discovered the once inactive machine was now flashing with bright red warning lights.

"Oh no!" the L2 girl squeaked, as she began backing up.

"We have to get out of here," Heero said, directing his focus to the nervous couple.

"No shit, Heero! Move your feet!" Duo shouted as he grabbed Deidra's hand and took off running as fast as he could, but unfortunately, his legs gave out due to too much pressure. "Damnit!"

The Perfect Soldier bolted towards his down comrade and took Duo's broken left arm. "Deidra, take his right. Both of you move as fast as you can," he ordered.

Wordlessly the girl obliged and the three half-walked half-ran as fast as they could while still trying to remain upright as the earth shuddered under the impact of the solid metal collapsing on it.

"We're not going to get away in time," Deidra said, fear very evident in her jade green eyes.

"Don't talk. Keep moving," Heero growled, as he tried to maintain an even pace with the other two.

Duo shook his head. "Sorry, guys. I didn't know I'd end up being the damn anchor."

"Duo, don't talk like that," Deidra argued. However she too wondered how they could possibly escape the explosion in time.

Suddenly an ear piercing siren blared from the detonating Mobile Suit. The three pilots cringed at the noise but continued on. Finally it beeped what sounded like a count down.

"Shit! We're not going to make it!" Duo yelled, wincing from the pain in both his leg and head.

Heero narrowed his eyes. "Shut up, Duo. We will."

"HOW?!"

Heero never got to answer because once he opened his mouth a loud booming sound rocked the ground, throwing him and the others from their feet as the Perfect Suit exploded.

The thick branches of the trees swayed heavily at the sound of an explosion, as birds fluttered away in fear. Trowa scanned through the foliage as he searched for Trista's fallen Timewarp Gundam. The Heavyarms pilot sighed as searched through his estimations of where he expected her to have landed but found nothing.

'Where is she? She has to be here somewhere,' He thought, pursing his lips in frustration. Finally, after returning to the previous area he had searched, he found the missing gundam. The metal was badly scarred and hidden under broken tree branches, but sure enough, it was Timewarp flat on its back.

Trowa quickly took off at a sprint towards the mobile suit and climbed up the side, sliding momentarily but managed to maintain a grip. Finally he approached the hatch of the cockpit.

"Trista," Trowa called out, banging his fist against the heavy metal but it wouldn't budge. "Open up, Trista. It's Trowa."

Still, the metal door remained unmoved. Gritting his teeth, he grasped the edges and with all his strength, pulled it apart. Inside he found Trista still strapped to her seat with a thick line of blood trickling from her head. Her eyes were closed, and she was very still.

"Trista?" Carefully the L3 pilot crept inside and touched her neck, checking for a pulse. He closed his eyes briefly. "Faint, but it's still there."

He looked at her face trying to decide what would be the best course of action. He didn't know if she had hurt herself worse than merely being knocked out and couldn't worsening those injuries that he didn't know about. After a moment of thought he decided the best thing he could do is stay with her and try to radio for help to the other gundams from the Timewarp. After that step was achieved, he could plan the next.

With that settled in his mind, he sent a coded distress signal to the others.

Quatre glance at the message Towa sent with a worried expression on his face. It seemed as though things have gone from bad to worse. The likelihood of any of them surviving at this point was slim to none. He sighed deeply and redirected Sandrock to the coordinates that Trowa had sent.

"Winner, did you receive a message from Barton as well," Wufei's voice questioned from over the intercom.

"Yes and I'm taking Sandrock over there right now."

"Then I'll follow you. Any word from Yuy, Tomoe, Maxwell or Robert?"

Quatre shook his head. "No. The last I heard from Heero was when he ordered us to descend. You?"

"Nothing. Yuy better know what he is doing. Especially with Tomoe possibly still under the influence of Iron Fist's controls."

"All we can do at this point, Wufei is wait." Quatre pursed his lips as he landed Sandrock near Trowa's abandoned gundam, silently wishing everyone to be all right.

The wind blew softly, rustling leaves from the branches of the trees. A few birds chirped softly as Hotaru groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. She gasped as white, hot pain flashed in her head and a sticky substance smeared on her fingertips. She drew a breath and looked at her hand, knowing that she probably had a large gash on her head.

"What hap-" she began then realized she knew the answer. Her gundam somehow blew up. Hotaru gritted her teeth as she forced herself to her knees. How the hell she actually survived the explosion was beyond her. For one thing, she was amazed to still be alive. "Stanz."

With that name she pushed herself to her feet. He had to pay for all he had done immediately. No longer could she allow herself to be manipulated like some damn puppet. His control had to come to an end.

Suddenly, a Perfect Doll landed at her feet. Her violet eyes instantly darkened at the sight of the lone machine of destruction. There had to be someway to render it usable as a mobile suit. If only she could make it inside the cockpit. 'Think, Hotaru. Think. You have the brain power, but how the hell can it be done?' Hotaru pursed her lips as another doll landed on the opposite side of her. A smirk curved on her face as she finally came up with a plan.

"STANZ, IS AN EGOTISTICAL BASTARD! AND I WILL KILL HIM! YOU HEAR ME, STANZ? I WILL KILL YOU!" Hotaru stood in front of the first mobile doll as she flicked off the second one. Almost automatically, its radar zeroed in on her and fired, missing the laughing girl by seconds as she leaped over the edge of a hill for protection from the blast.

An explosion next rocked the earth and the first mobile doll was blown up, sending shards of metal back towards the other doll, damaging its control system.

Hotaru waited a minute then peered back over the edge of the hill. She smirked in satisfaction over the fact that her plan succeeded. Quickly she scampered back over to the damaged mobile doll and began her climb towards the cockpit. If she knew one thing, it was that the new metal they used was indeed not gundanium or even of a compound of it. It was strong, but not strong enough. Once she pried open the cockpit, Hotaru rubbed her hands together then set to work.

Heero lifted his head, puzzled by the fact that he was lying face down on a metallic floor. Shouldn't he have been blown to bits?

"How did we get here?" Deidra frowned as she too looked around at the large metal room they were in.

"Maybe we died and this is what heaven looks like for gundam pilots." Duo shrugged then winced as he sat up. "The least they could do was take the pain away. I think my leg hurts worse than it did before we were alive."

"You're not dead," a voice said from the shadows.

Duo groaned. "Not another mysterious person hidden in the dark thing."

Another voiced chuckled deeply. "The least you three could do is thank us."

"After all, this isn't the first time we've saved you," yet another voice smugly said.

"I think I'm going to have nightmares about this," Deidra said dryly.

Duo nodded, "I'd bet you anything that it's the scientists again. They seem to have a habit of showing up in the weirdest places."

"Very good, Duo. Still as sharp as ever I see," Dr. E praised as the lights flicked on.

The three gundam pilots winced from the harsh lighting, shielding their eyes as they glanced around the cold metal room. "Where are we?" Heero inquired, rising to his feet.

"An underground shelter. You were lucky to have fallen in this location before the mobile suit exploded. Very faulty piece of machinery if you ask me." Prof. I nodded.

Heero frowned as he considered the turn of events. "What about the others and Iron Fist? Do they know we have survived?"

"That we do not know." Master M shook his head.

"Well, then what the hell do you know because I'm getting sick and tired of being yanked around like a fucking yoyo!" Deidra snapped, glaring coldly at the scientists. "I'm bleeding, burnt, and have a monster of a migraine so unless you have something useful to say then shut. Up."

Duo blinked at the L2 girl, amazed by the amount of fury radiating off her. "I guess having a bad day doesn't qualify, huh."

Her face softened when she looked at him and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Sorry. I'm tired of this. I want it over with."

Duo nodded and wrapped his good arm across her back. "I know. Me too."

Dr. E chuckled. "Very well then. Where shall we begin?"

Quatre raced up to the Timewarp gundam and sucked in a breath as he took in account how badly damaged it was. He had to admit, Trista was very lucky to still be alive. Quickly, he climbed on the gundam, Wufei a few feet behind.

The Chinese Preventer took one look at the gundam and shook his head then followed Quatre on the gundam. Quatre rapped at the cockpit hatch and slowly it opened, allowing both teens the ability to see a slightly panicked Trowa.

Trowa nodded at his comrades, his eyes were slightly wider than usual as if in shock. "Quatre, I don't know what to do about her. If I should move her or not."

Quatre nodded in understanding. "I'm not exactly a medical expert, but I'll do what I can." Trowa moved aside allowing the blonde entry into the gundam.

Wufei pursed his lips and studied his friend. "You really do care for her."

Trowa blinked, realizing that Wufei was not questioning but stating the fact. He drew a breath and nodded. "I don't know how to explain it, but I feel drawn to her."

"Then it isn't infatuation after all. That's the way it should be."

"What do you mean?"

Wufei shook his head. "It's the same as with Yuy towards Tomoe and I suppose Maxwell as well concerning that Robert girl. Maxwell I can see falling for any pretty girl that walks in the room. However, you and Yuy are different. It takes more, much more."

Trowa closed his eyes briefly. "I see. Though I have a feeling you may be underestimating Duo. He hasn't actually fallen for a girl until now, and even now, he still keeps his distance as if afraid of something."

"You may be right, Barton. We'll just have to wait and see." The two exchanged silent nods. A second later Quatre reappeared from the cockpit.

"She seems stable, so I guess we can move her, but more than likely she'll need to see a doctor. Her arm may be broken and she may have cracked so ribs," Quatre said grimly. He paused a moment and scratched his head. "The question however is where we can take her?"

"How about to the grave?" Nitol Stanz said from behind a group of armed Iron Fist soldiers.

The three gundam pilots looked around and realized that they were surrounded. With heavy hearts they raised their hands over their heads in surrender.

Hotaru worked effortlessly on the mobile doll. It only sparked a few times until she finally turned it into a fully operational mobile suit. She ignored the burns on her hands, closed the cockpit hatch and fired it up.

She had to find the others before Stanz did. There was no telling what he would do to get her back under his thumb. "Heero, where are you? And where are the others?" Hotaru cursed under her breath and took off.

The suit functioned without too much difficulty, jerking only occasionally as if trying to resist her orders. The only issue at the moment was trying to remember where exactly the base was located. Her memory thanks to the brainwashing was not it's best, given that she had rejected everything they incorporated into her mind.

Hotaru quickly entered an order to return to home coordinates into the suit in hopes that it had an automatic recall if damaged. If she was going to save everyone, she'd have to do it fast before Stanz realizes that the pawn on his chess table had just turned into the opposing queen, and was plotting a way to checkmate.

Heero leaned against the cool steel wall with his arms crossed as the doctors worked on bandaging Duo and Deidra. At that moment without his gundam he felt utterly useless. The others were out their somewhere and may be in danger yet there was nothing he could do about it. Especially for Hotaru, that is if she was still alive.

Dr E chuckled. "You three should thank your lucky stars that we just so happened to be here."

"Yeah, yeah. And where is the so called valuable information you said you'd give us?" Duo scoffed as Master M made quick work of his arm.

"We wished for you not to bleed on our clean floor as we told you," Prof. I laughed.

"How considerate," Deidra said dryly. She jumped a bit as the elderly bald man dabbed antiseptic on her wounds. "Owie, that stings."

"You see, we need to stop what's going to come; World domination in the worst degree. It'll make what you experienced in AC 196 look like a tea party," Pr. F nodded, a serious look in his dark eyes. "A world run with fear, and he plans to execute each of you in that process."

Heero and Duo looked up and narrowed his eyes. Deidra gulped and shrank back a bit.

"They want to kill us? Not that it should surprise me, but I still think that's a bit extreme," Deidra said nervously.

"No, they want to toy with us too." Heero shook his head. "Torment us the best way they know how by alienating us, and using us to their benefit. Then and only then they will go for the kill."

"How wise of you, Heero Yuy," Stanz chuckled as his soldiers opened fire.

Deidra screamed and Duo dove to her, throwing his full weight at her as he shoved her out of the way and rolled her to the safety of the corner of the room.

"Damnit," he cursed through the rain of bullets as Deidra clung helplessly to him, burying her face in his shirt.

Heero glanced at his friends briefly as the scientists were gunned down then fled towards the metal door. However before he could push the door open, a large heavy metallic ceiling panel fell and crashed down upon him.

A few moments later the shower of bullets ceased. One soldier approached the sheet of metal that had fallen on the Perfect Solider then gave it a kick. "Sir, what should we do about Yuy?"

Stanz snorted. "Nothing. The fool has been crushed and poor little Hotaru will be so heartbroken. Grab the other two. They will make excellent bargaining chips before we execute them as while.

Four soldiers roughly hauled Duo and Deidra to their feet and snapped a pair of handcuffs on their wrists. They took pride in their work as the two gundam pilots lowered their heads in defeat and closed their eyes to shield them against the sight of the blood staining the floors.

Author's Notes: Almost done. Next Chapter will be out before Christmas Day. Until then.


	25. Life or Death

Shattered Reality Part 25

Life or Death

By

Sailor Janus

The rage in Hotaru's heart built to an immeasurable level as she streaked through the sky in the reformed mobile suit. She knew she was in for one hell of a fight and there was no way she'd die before Stanz did.

Hotaru closed her eyes a moment and thought of how she had gotten there to begin with. It was only a few days ago that she was programmed to assassinate the five ex-gundam pilots. Once the program however malfunctioned thanks to a blow to the head, she found herself regardless, teamed up with her former enemy, or so she thought. After that, her reality had completely shattered as they found themselves framed for the murder of Relena Peacecraft, prompting Iron Fist to hunt them down with ease. From there, she was unclear as to what else has gone on, knowing only that Stanz was trying to pull their strings.

She had to wonder if the others were okay or if they had already been executed. Hotaru shook her head with a scowl. She couldn't think like that. They had to still be alive or all her effort will just be in vain.

Hotaru froze as her radar picked up on five mobile dolls headed her way. With her teeth gritted she fired a shower of bullets at one then swung in with her saber and sliced through another one. Suddenly her mobile suit began to shake as a shower of bullets from the other two dolls pummeled it from behind. She gritted her teeth and reminded herself that she was not in a gundam. She sucked in a breath and spun the machine around d and fired a missile at the offending dolls. A loud explosion greeted her next as that missile met its target.

"I have to get out of here damn it and find the others." Hotaru said to herself. "I don't have time for games!" She quickly shut down the flight mechanism and plummeted towards the hard earth blew.

The two remaining mobile dolls followed nonetheless, their sole duty to destroy Hotaru Tomoe.

However as Hotaru nearly crashed to the ground, she swiftly switched the flight mechanism back on and pushed with all her might to accelerate upwards, or risk meeting a bone shattering death.

She shoved the lever up with both hands but it seemed to be stuck. "Don't do this to me, please don't do this to me." With one last hard push it rose to the top level, violently throwing the mobile suit upwards. Hotaru's head snapped back, slamming into the back of the seat as she rose towards to sky as she tried to focus on the radar to prevent from being sick.

Only when the mobile dolls crashed to the ground, did she release the breath she had been holding, and began once again to race off to Stanz's headquarters.

_The halls_ _seemed endless as a nine-year-old Hotaru Tomoe trailed down them with the light of innocence still evident in her violet eyes._ _She had wanderer these halls for as long as she could remember. Blank, and as white as a fresh sheet of paper, they seemed like a blur against the gray tiled_ _floor. _

_Hotaru sighed, bored with the tests training, all for what seemed like nothing. Often it seemed like her memory was disappearing days at a time. She could remember fully what she did last week or last month. At times, she didn't really know who she was. She wasn't normal. Didn't go to school like other kids her age, instead she was tutored in what was pretty much a home school, only it was in the lab. She also didn't have a family like other kids did. The professor did his best to care for her, but with Stanz there, it made life if anything, worse._

_She was push beyond her abilities in everything, from the physical to the mental yet still it wasn't good enough. She heard the praises he spoke of about some ten-year-old boy they had found a while back, but she couldn't remember who he was or even his name. _

_Despite the fact that they seemed to be rivals, she'd more than anything like to have a friend, perhaps his friendship. Sometimes if she thought really hard, she could remember a glimpse of what the boy she saw for a split second when she was younger looked like, but it was so hazy that she was still unclear whether she had actually saw him or if it was her imagination. _

_"Hotaru, what are you doing?"_

_The young girl gasped and spun around staring wide eyed at the black haired man who glared disapprovingly down at her. She gulped and looked at her shoes. "I was bored so I decided to walk around a bit."_

_Nitol Stanz shook his head. "You know you're not allowed in this wing of the building, young lady."_

_"I know, but there's nothing to do."_

_"Then go train or study. I don't want to even see you in this part of the lab ever again, do you understand?"_

_Hotaru sighed. "Yes, sir."_

_Stanz slapped her across the face and growled. "Don't use that tone with me. Go to the training room immediately. It's evident you have not been disciplined enough by the professor._

_Hotaru touched her cheek in shock and looked at him in horror. She could feel tears well up in her eyes but refused to cry. _

_The man glared at her and pulled out a gun from his pocket and placed the barrel against her temple. "You are more dispensable than you may believe, child. So don't you even have the slightest idea that you are safe here. The professor is not running the show, I am. Now get that stupid look off your face and get moving." He withdrew the gun and slipped it back in his pocket then continued down the hall as if nothing had happened._

_Hotaru bit her lip and took off running down the hall. 'He thinks I'm too weak and worthless. I need to change.'_

_With that thought firmly in her mind, Hotaru returned to the training room for her most brutal training session so far. All just to prove she was more that they expected her to be. _

Hotaru shook her head, trying the clear the memory from her mind. There were more important things to consider than reflecting on the past. A split second later her radar flashed, revealing yet another group of enemies in hot pursuit of her.

A curse erupted from her throat as she slammed a fist on the arm of her chair. "WILL YOU, FUCKING LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!" Hotaru shifted the mobile suit into hyper drive and blasted through the half dozen dolls, slamming into the shoulder of one in the process. Sparks and the grating sound of metal against metal deafened her ears. Suddenly she crashed into yet another doll, throwing Hotaru roughly forward, the only thing keeping her from smacking into the cockpit was her shoulder harness.

Hotaru, regardless of the lack of distance between her and the doll, backed up and shot a missile into it. The explosion, however blasted her backwards into another group of dolls before she crashed to the ground below.

The solid white walls reminded Deidra of a hospital, making her sick to her stomach. She looked at Duo briefly, who was being dragged down the corridors and dropped her head again with a sigh.

She supposed they were being taken to a holding cell until they found the opportune time to kill them or take them into the custody of the law enforcement for the murder of the Relena Peacecraft.

The sound of a squeaking metal door brought Deidra out of her thoughts as she was shoved into the small, dimly lit room followed by the other L2 gundam pilot, sending both teens crashing to the floor. The door quickly slammed shut and the guards marched away chuckling to themselves.

"Well, this is great. Heero and the scientists are dead and we're gonna follow shortly!" the burgundy-haired girl whimpered, throwing her shackled wrists up in defeat, as she remained where she landed without a thought of climbing to her feet.

"We'll be okay, Deej. You won't believe how many times I've been thrown in the slammer and got out alive. A few cuts and bruises, yeah, but I still survived," Duo reassured her, gathering himself painfully off the dirty floor.

Deidra bit her lip. "But Heero and Hotaru are dead. Hotaru's mobile suit blew up and Heero was crushed and we don't even know if the others are still alive or not!" She shook her head sorrowfully as tears flooded her jade green eyes. "We're good as dead."

"You have to remember to hold onto hope. Without it, you are defeated before you even enter the battlefield," a calm, familiar voice said from the shadows.

Duo and Deidra spun around and gasped at the sight of their missing comrades. "You're still alive!" Duo stared, bewildered at his friends who were leaning against the far wall in the tiny room. "Damn, we really can survive through anything."

Deidra smiled as well, but it didn't last long when she noticed Trista's head lying in Trowa's lap and that the rest of her body was very still. He looked at her solemnly and she frowned. "Trista? Is she okay? What happened?"

Quatre sighed as Wufei looked away. Both were worse for wear, but not nearly as bad as the female gundam pilot guarded by Trowa. Despite everything that happened from when they found her in the destroyed mobile suit to now, she still had yet to awaken.

"She crashed and still hasn't woken up yet. I suppose she may have hit her head harder than we thought." Trowa closed his eyes but remanded as still as a statue.

"She'll wake up, right? Right?!" the unconscious girl's friend inquired as her voice went higher.

It was Wufei's turn to answer her. "You will do her no good to go off into a panic attack. It does nothing more than show weakness so keep your head, and perhaps she'll return to hers."

"Hey! Watch how you're talking yourself, Wufei!" Duo glared at the Chinese teen who merely shook his head.

"I was not being insulting. I am only trying to keep her in the right mindset of survival rather than fear. We need all the strength we have to get out of here alive."

Duo stared at Wufei for a moment before he too nodded in agreement. "Well, picking the locks is out of the question. They did a thorough search of us before dumping us here. I don't even have a freaking paperclip."

"With Trista out of commission, it'll make our task even more difficult," Trowa said nodding at the girl.

Quatre glanced at him in understanding, knowing full well that he would give up his own life for hers, yet would live on if she requested that instead. It seemed like everyone was growing and changing. "I don't think too many of us can fight too well anyway. Trista is unconscious, Duo's leg and arm seem to be badly injured and Deidra doesn't seem too much better."

Deidra gave him a sad smile. "Then what do we do?"

"The only thing we can do, we wait," Wufei simply said. "If Yuy and Tomoe are the same Yuy and Tomoe we have seen fight, then they won't die as easy as most would expect. They're survivors and will somehow beat Stanz."

"But, we saw the ceiling panel fall on Heero! It fell on him. Even Stanz was convinced he was dead," the burgundy haired girl argued. "There's no way he could have survived."

"If Heero can survive self detonating, he can survive anything," Trowa quietly said, earning a bewildered look from Deidra.

"Self-detonate? He blew up in his gundam and survived?!"

"He was in a coma for a few months, but yeah, he survived," the green eyed L3 teen nodded.

Duo scoffed. "Now, you see why I keep saying the guy is not human."

Deidra closed her eyes briefly in thought. "Then perhaps if Hotaru is anything like him, then she is still alive as well. I know I didn't get a chance to meet her, but I don't want her to be dead. We've already lost too much as it is."

Duo nodded and placed his good hand comfortingly around her. "Then all we have is hope, otherwise we might as well already be dead."

The others agreed, knowing that they were at a disadvantage this time around and that all they could do was wait and see what happens next and hope that Heero and Hotaru were indeed, still alive.

A groan escaped Hotaru's throat as she touched her hand to her head and swore as pain followed the touch. It was evident that she would definitely have to see a doctor when everything was over with, breathing or not. Hotaru's eyes shot open and blinked as a sudden realization hit her hard. She knew exactly where she was now. "It's about time."

She recalled the mobile dolls almost immediately after that and quickly and pushed down on the eject button, releasing the hatch to the cockpit and marking her freedom from the machine.

Unfortunately just as Hotaru set her feet upon the worn soil, she heard someone clapping behind her. Her heart skipped a beat as she spun around and found Nitol Stanz flanked by a group of armed soldiers, all with rifles pointed in her direction.

"Very lovely show, my dear. Quite… entertaining," Stanz sneered, nodding at the young assassin.

Hotaru studied his face and took a step back. "You were just playing with me. You never planned on killing me. Despite the malfunctioning of the damn program, you still need me."

Stanz chuckled then raised took a gun out of his coat pocket and fired, causing the bullet to graze Hotaru's left arm. She bit her lip but continued to stand defiantly before him as blood trickled towards her wrist from the fresh wound.

"Scare tactics don't work with me. They haven't for a very long time," his female prodigy softly said, meeting his cold eyes with her own.

"Oh, but the threat of your friends' lives will be a more appropriate method to persuade you along."

Hotaru flinched, "I don't care."

"Really? So you wouldn't bat an eye if I dragged each of them out here and sent a bullet into their brains right in front of you. Tsk, tsk. Hasn't that been the one thing you had always hoped for? A friend?" Stanz mocked her, enjoying the fact that she was slightly squirming.

"People change and you know damn well I have."

Just then rapid footsteps interrupted the confrontation as Prof. T raced towards Hotaru. "Stanz, stop this, this instant. You have gone too far," the older man shouted angrily.

The power hungry leader however snorted at the scientist. "So Professor. You have finally unchained yourself from your precious laboratory, I see."

"Your mockery does not amuse me, Stanz." Prof. T narrowed his eyes at the man through his spectacles. "I want you to leave my daughter out of this!"

"Daughter?" The female gundam pilot choked as she stared at the scientist in shock. Her brain immediately shut down as the white haired man turned to her and smiled.

"Yes, Hotaru, you are my daughter and I am your father Souichi Tomoe. I am sorry about everything and love you dearly. I always have."

Hotaru gazed up into his apologetic eyes and felt a rush of calm wash over her. "Papa?"

Prof. T nodded, but the enduring scene shattered as the gun in Stanz's hand fired, shooting the professor in the head. Hotaru screamed as her father fell to the ground and blood gushed out of the hole in his head.

"Papa," she whispered unconscious of her own voice as her father's words echoed in her head. Whether time froze or not, Hotaru couldn't tell. She didn't know she was holding her breath or even feel the hot tears sliding down her cheeks as she stared at her father's corpse. It seemed like the world itself stood still.

"One annoying Tomoe down, another to fall," Stanz snorted as he cocked his gun and aimed it for Hotaru's still form.

"Firefly, move!" An urgent voice shouted as something knocked the dazed girl off her feet. A split second later the gunshot followed, sending the bullet whizzing overhead.

Hotaru however stared at the ground and shook her head. "Leave me be. There is nothing left." The cloaked figure however gently lifted her head up and placed a gun in her hands. Sapphire met Amethyst and Hotaru found herself unable to breathe once again.

"Yes, there is. You still have the others…. And me."

"Heero."

"Finish this once and for all," Heero nodded towards Stanz as the dictator fired another shot at them. Hotaru quickly threw herself at Heero, grabbed him by the shirt and rolled with him out of range of the bullet. "You have to fight, Hotaru. Then we'll be free of this shit."

With her jaw firmly set, Hotaru nodded. "This has to end, now." She carefully gathered herself off the ground. The surrounding guards cocked their guns but she did not react and instead faced Nitol Stanz. "The man you see before you is not a leader. He is a coward. He was the one who arranged the death of Relena Peacecraft and framed the heroes of the Eve Wars. Following him will only lead to your demise. Whatever he promised is only a lie. After all, look at how he thanked my father for his many dedicated years of service. Don't doubt he'll do the same to any of you."

Heero closed his eyes but remained on the ground, partly concealed by his heavy cloak. "As soldiers you should know which path is the true one. The decision is yours."

The Iron Fist soldiers hesitated as if contemplating whether what Hotaru and Heero spoke of was in fact the truth. Then one by one they laid down their guns.

Nitol Stanz chuckled as he addressed the men. "Do you think turning your backs on me now would save your sorry hides? You are all wrong." Just then he pulled out a trigger device and positioned the button under his thumb. "Just the tiniest push and this whole base will go up. All it takes is pressing down this button."

Heero swore as Hotaru tightened her grip on the gun. "I was right. You are a coward.

"And your friends are dead," he smirked as she fired her gun, but at the same instance, he pressed down on the button and the entire building exploded with a deafening roar.

Hotaru screamed and fired a long stream of bullets into the maniac's body then fell heavily to ground in the same instant he did. The cold metal slipped out of her fingers and only when Heero grabbed her arm did she look up and notice that his right arm was wrapped with a t-shirt and held to his chest by use of a makeshift sling. His leg didn't look much better. Hotaru bit her lip and watched as the building collapsed in a fiery haze.

"It's over," the Perfect Soldier whispered, receiving only a numb nod in response.

"But we still lost," Hotaru said soberly.

"Lost what?" a familiar voice said behind the melancholy couple.

Heero and Hotaru both turned around and couldn't believe their eyes. Standing a few feet from the burning building was Lady Une and Sally Po and a large group of Preventers as well as the rest of the gundam pilots. "You're still alive. All of you."

Lady Une nodded. "We had to make you believe that we died as well, which made Iron Fist believe that they had the upper hand however they failed to realize how resourceful you all are, even without your Gundams.

"That makes perfect sense," Hotaru replied, still dazed by the previous events. "And if you tried to contact us, they would have known that you two were alive after all."

"Exactly." Sally smiled and gestured to the group. "We better get all of you in medical care. I have no doubt at all that there is some story to tell."

"Then you better make sure there is plenty of coffee because it's gonna be a long one," Duo sighed between Wufei and Quatre who were helping him stay up right. "But before, I'm gonna need a very long nap."

"Trista still isn't awake yet, but Sally says she should be okay…. Not that you know who she is Hotaru…. Or who I am…. Um, hi, I'm Deidra Robert and Trista is the girl Trowa is carrying." Deidra giggled then abruptly began coughing from the smoke.

Quatre smiled at Hotaru. "Don't worry, we'll make introductions later but right now, we should go home."

"Um, Quatre, speaking of home…" Lady Une began but was interrupted by Deidra.

"That's right. Our apartment blew up. Damn Iron Fist. THEY NEED TO PAY LITERIALLY OR I'M GONNA SUE!" Deidra winced as she realized everyone was staring at her then shrugged. "Well, they do."

Duo chuckled. "Don't worry, babe. You can stay with us."

"Really?"

"Actually, Duo, no she can't," Sally softly said.

Duo head jerked up and he frowned. "What? Why not? I mean we stayed at her apartment and if you mean-"

"No! You see, your apartments have been destroyed as well. The same goes for Quatre's mansions," Lady Une sighed sadly. "I'm sorry but everything is lost."

"Gone? Everything? Injustice!" Wufei stomped the ground then began rambling in a string of Chinese.

"We'll replace as much as we can and have already provided three apartments for you all to share, three bedrooms each to start with."

"Right," Sally said. "We've already decorated the girls' place and need to finish the other two."

"You mean we all stay together?" Trowa inquired.

Lady Une nodded. "Temporarily, but for as long as you need. And Preventers is also providing all of you compensation as well."

"A new start. Might be worth a try," Hotaru shrugged. The others nodded in response.

"Let's go home," Heero said. Hotaru nodded and helped him off the ground then together along with their team, they left the colony, to seek out what the future would bring them next. But knew whatever it would be, they would not face it alone.

* * *

Author's Notes: All I can say is this chapter was so hard to put out considering all the things going on right now in my life, but I did it despite the depression I was going through before. So yay. This is the last chapter. The Christmas one wasn't flowing the way I wanted it to so I scrapped it. However, there is a sequel planned I just don't know exactly when it will be put out.

Update: The sequel which I was planning has been postponed until the completion of at least Haunted or Tragic Rain. I have had a lot going on the past few years so working on fanfiction has been a bit more trying than usual. I may post a teaser chapter at some point if there is a demand on it. The teaser would basically be one chapter with the next being posted at a later date.

Happy Holidays.

SJ


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